Study highlights nurse staffing disparity in hospitals serving black populations

Editor's Note

Nurse staffing rates in hospitals serving a high percentage of Black patients are worse than in hospitals serving fewer Black patients, a disparity that has significant implications for patient outcomes, according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Published in the journal Nursing Research and detailed in a January 13 article from Penn Today, the study employed data from a 2015 survey of 179,336 nurses across 574 hospitals. Researchers found that nurses in hospitals serving high percentages of Black patients care for 6% more patients per nurse than those in other hospitals, even after accounting or unit type. When other factors, such as hospital complexity and metropolitan location, were considered, the disparity increased to 7%.

According to the article, the study builds on previous findings that Black patients are disproportionately hospitalized in under-resourced facilities, contributing to worse outcomes, including higher mortality rates. Study authors emphasize that improving nurse staffing in these hospitals is a more feasible solution than redistributing Black patients to better-staffed hospitals.