A staffing-effectiveness methodology for analyzing human resource and clinical/service screening indicator data.
BACKGROUND
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), a university-affiliated academic health center, developed and pilot tested a method for analyzing staffing effectiveness. SCREENING INDICATORS: Human resource screening indicators chosen for analysis included direct caregiver indicators (based on nursing and allied health resource data), such as registered nurse (R.N.) turnover rate, and indirect caregiver indicators (based on overall health care organization resource data), such as overall hospital turnover rate. Clinical/service screening indicators consisted of five nursing-sensitive outcome variables.


METHODS
Patient unit-based data collection at the hospital was institutionally aggregated on a quarterly basis for all human resource and clinical service indicators. Initial methodological development and pilot testing focused on statistical process control chart (SPCC) methodology for longitudinal measurements and the use of spider diagrams for examination of potential relationships within and among all variables, with all variables considered simultaneously in an interrelational analytical process.


CONCLUSIONS
The design, development, and pilot-testing of the staffing-effectiveness methodology led to recommendations for clinical and operational interventions.
Sullivan
Jacqueline
J
Department of Nursing Services, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, USA. jacqueline.sullivan@mail.tju.edu
Brust
Peter
P
Wren
Patricia J
PJ
Rich
Victoria
V
D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006302:Health Services Research; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015143:Philadelphia; D010865:Pilot Projects; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care