Safety implications of various forms of understaffing among nurses during a COVID-19 pandemic

First published: July 9, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14952

Commentary

This study investigated the process by which understaffing and professional shortages formed near misses among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A three-wave time interval study design was used to collect data from 120 US nurses working on the front lines of a hospital pandemic.

The results of the study were as follows

The results revealed understaffing and understaffed expertise as factors contributing to near misses. Specifically, understaffing increased the use of safety precautions, and near misses occurred only when cognitive impairment was high. Additionally, higher levels of cognitive impairment appeared to be the result of understaffing more expertise.

Thus, the results of the study emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of understaffing in order to improve nurse and patient safety.