Mandatory Public Reporting Does Not Improve Staffing Ratios In Nursing Home Sample

Registered nurse staffing during the day and evening shifts at New Jersey nursing homes was significantly linked with the staffing rating on Nursing Home Compare but not the overall rating, according to a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 

“Quality resident care is the cumulative result of multiple measures inclusive of staffing; therefore, administrators should continue to focus on improving quality in nursing homes,” researchers wrote, “which may improve staffing ratios across shifts.”  

The study investigated the association between publicly reported staffing ratios and quality ratings from Nursing Home Compare for 146 nursing homes in New Jersey between 2012 and 2019. 

Compared with 2012, staffing ratios in 2019 improved slightly for licensed practical nurses, according to the study, but not for registered nurses of certified nursing assistants. For all personnel, the number of residents assigned at night doubled. 

Decreasing the number of residents assigned to a registered nurse, researchers explained, was associated with an increase in Nursing Home Compare staffing ratings but not overall ratings. 

“Mandatory public reporting holds nursing homes accountable for quality outcomes,” they observed, “but does not improve staffing ratios.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference:

de Cordova PB, Johansen ML, Zha P, Prado J, Field V, Cadmus E. Does Public Reporting of Staffing Ratios and Nursing Home Compare Ratings Matter? [published online ahead of print, 2021 Apr 13]. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021;S1525-8610(21)00307-8. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2021.03.011