Nurse Staffing Literature Review

A literature review of articles, reports and publications that examine particular nursing characteristics in relation to patient outcomes was undertaken. The Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario provided sets of documents held by them and another professional nursing group. A general search of publicly available materials was also conducted. All of the documents were submitted to a standard qualitative analytic approach. Research studies were classified according to five major nursing practice theme areas: education, staffing, work environment, nurse categorization, and model of care. The studies in each area were summarized, highlighting major findings and discussing possible research, limitations and gaps. A description of more general challenges related to nursing research is provided.

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