title: Nursing home staffing standards and staffing levels in six countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to collect and compare nurse staffing standards and staffing levels in six counties: the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Norway, and Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study used descriptive information on staffing regulations and policies as well as actual staffing levels for registered nurses, licensed nurses, and nursing assistants across states, provinces, regions, and countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from Internet searches of staffing regulations and policies along with statistical data on actual staffing from reports and documents. Staffing data were converted to hours per resident day to facilitate comparisons across countries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found wide variations in both nurse staffing standards and actual staffing levels within and across countries, although comparisons were difficult to make due to differences in measuring staffing, the vagueness of standards, and limited availability of actual staffing data. Both the standards and levels in most countries (except Norway and Sweden) were lower than the recommended levels by experts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings demonstrate the need for further attention to nurse staffing standards and levels in order to assure the quality of nursing home care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A high quality of nursing home care requires adequate levels of nurse staffing, and nurse staffing standards have been shown to improve staffing levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0612, USA. sunghcho@hanyang.ac.kr
authors.forename: Charlene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Choiniere
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldmann
authors.forename: Frode Fadnes
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: Liz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.forename: Vivian
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stamatopoulos
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szebehely
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce