[Effects of cost saving strategies and staffing levels on patient and nurse outcomes. A literature review].

The effects of cost saving strategies and changes in staffing levels and skill mix in the inpatient care setting on patient and nurse outcomes have not yet been examined in Switzerland. In 2002 the Swiss Federal Office of Health mandated the Institute of Nursing Science at the University of Basel to conduct a literature review to examine the evidence available on this topic. The literature research and analysis cover the period from 1991 to 2003. Sixty publications out of a total of 260 reviewed abstracts were included and analyzed. The results show that in the inpatient care settings in Switzerland as well as in other countries positions for registered nurses have been reduced and/or the qualification and skill mix in care teams have been downgraded. Given the present health care situation where the intensity and complexity of caring for hospitalized patients is increasing, an imbalance occurs between the need for high quality care and the possibilities to offer this care. This affects patients' and nurses outcomes. The international results show a significant relationship between lower staffing levels and skill mix in care teams and higher complication, "failure-to-rescue", and mortality rates in patients, as well as a lower job satisfaction, and higher fluctuation, burnout and work-related injury rates in nursing personnel. Thus, nursing care within hospitals represents not only a cost factor but also an important quality factor which is essential in order to be able to realize good patient's outcomes.