Cincinnati study: Pediatric nurse ratios impact readmission rates

Researchers at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have found that pediatric nurse staffing ratios are significantly associated with hospital readmission for children with common medical and surgical conditions (Source: “Nursing staff ratios directly impact pediatric hospital readmissions,” Fierce Healthcare, May 8, 2013).

The study, which was published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety and is believed to be the first to examine the extent of the association between hospital nurse staffing levels and pediatric readmissions, found that an increase of only one patient in a hospital's average staffing ratio raised the likelihood of a medical patient's readmission within 15-30 days by 11 percent. And the odds of readmission for surgical patients increased by 48 percent.

Children treated in hospitals meeting a staffing benchmark of no more than four patients per nurse were significantly less likely to be readmitted within 15-30 days. Nursing staffing ratios had no effect on readmissions within the first 14 days after discharge.