Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34378181›Full record

Observational studyHealth services research2021

The effect of data aggregation on estimations of nurse staffing and patient outcomes.

Shira G Winter, Ann P Bartel, Pamela B de Cordova, Jack Needleman, Susan K Schmitt, Patricia W Stone, Ciaran S Phibbs

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. The Effect of Nurse Aide Retention on Ohio's Nursing Home Resident Care Experience Scores: A Facility-Level Analysis.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shira G WinterCenter for Innovation to Implementation, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3661-6627
Ann P BartelColumbia Business School, New York, New York, USA.
Pamela B de CordovaRutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Nursing, Newark, New Jersey, USA.
Jack NeedlemanDepartment of Health Policy and Management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Susan K SchmittDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Patricia W StoneColumbia University School of Nursing, New York, New York, USA.
Ciaran S PhibbsDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4353-3507

Funding

Staffing SAFER - State Analysis for Effective ReportingK08HS024339 · AHRQ · RUTGERS THE STATE UNIV OF NJ NEWARK · PI DE CORDOVA, PAMELA BLYTHE · 2016 to 2018
$482k
AHRQ HHS K08 HS024339
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine how estimates of the association between nurse staffing and patient length of stay (LOS) change with data aggregation over varying time periods and settings, and statistical controls for unobserved heterogeneity. DATA SOURCES/STUDY

settingLongitudinal secondary data from October 2002 to September 2006 for 215 intensive care units and 438 general acute care units at 143 facilities in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. RESEARCH

designThis retrospective observational study used unit-level panel data to analyze the association between nurse staffing and LOS. This association was measured over both a month-long and a year-long period, with and without fixed effects. DATA COLLECTION: We used VA administrative data to obtain patient data on the severity of illness and LOS, as well as labor hours and wages for each unit by month. PRINCIPAL

findingsOverall, shorter LOS was associated with higher nurse staffing hours and lower proportions of hours provided by licensed professional nurses (LPNs), unlicensed personnel, and contract staff. Estimates of the association between nurse staffing and LOS changed in magnitude when aggregating data over years instead of months, in different settings, and when controlling for unobserved heterogeneity.

conclusionsEstimating the association between nurse staffing and LOS is contingent on the time period of analysis and specific methodology. In future studies, researchers should be aware of these differences when exploring nurse staffing and patient outcomes.

Indexed as

Data AggregationAdministrative Claims, HealthcareAgedFemaleHumansLength of StayLongitudinal StudiesMaleNursing Staff, HospitalPersonnel Staffing and SchedulingRetrospective StudiesSeverity of Illness IndexTime FactorsUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans Affairslength of staymethodsnurse staffingnursing workforceskill mix

Identifiers

PMID34378181
PMCPMC8586488

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.