Published in the January 2003 issue of Medical Care will be an article by Lynn Unruh, titled, “Licensed Nurse Staffing and Its Impact on Adverse Events in Hospitals.”

Unruh is an assistant professor in health services administration. Her study examined the changes in licensed nursing staff in Pennsylvania hospitals from 1991 to 1997; a time in which nurses claim their patient load began increasing.

The objective of her study was to assess “the relationship of licensed nursing staff with patient adverse events in hospitals.” “Adverse events” included lung collapse, pressure sores, falls, pneumonia, post surgical and treatment infections and urinary tract infections.

Restructuring of the hospital industry occurred in the 1990s and included downsizing of nurse staffing and an increase in unlicensed personnel. In a 1996 national survey of 7,569 registered nurses (RNs), nurses reported “these changes have negatively affected the quality of nursing care.”

Unruh’s report recommends policy changes including the “need to develop or reintroduce flexible staffing systems that take into account daily patient severity.” Also recommended is an increase in the supply of nurses by making working conditions more attractive.

“It will be important to attempt to bring back both RNs and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) in some, as yet undetermined, mix, and to attract new young people to both occupations,” Unruh concludes.