Acuity-adjusted Staffing, Nurse Practice Environments and NICU Outcomes
We are ready to roll out our next study, The Effect of Nursing on NICU Patient Outcomes. This study, funded
by the National Institute of Nursing Research at NIH, continues our program of research that seeks to improve
the quality of NICU care and provide an evidence base to support staffing decisions. Two unique aspects of the
new study are
- The collection of comprehensive data on infant assignment and acuity on one shift quarterly across
calendar year 2009, with the aim of calculating robust acuity-adjusted staffing ratios
- The comparison of nursing effects on infant outcomes in hospitals with a disproportionate share of
minority VLBW infants, with the aim of reducing racial disparities in infant mortality and informing
evidence-based selective referral standards.
We invite all NICUs that have partnered with us in the first study to continue on this journey.
It is our hope that together we can build a flourishing and productive Nursing Research Consortium.
Through NICU Nurses Advancing Practice, we can gain an understanding of the role nursing plays in
NICU patient outcomes.
More information about how to enroll into the study is posted. This study is open only to those NICUs
that participated in Acuity-adjusted Staffing, Nurse Practice Environments and Neonatal Outcomes.
Future plans are to conduct a third study that will be open to more VON NICUs.
Please contact the study project manager Dr. Robyn Cheung
for more information.