News: Increased nurse continuity delivers mixed mortality results, study suggests

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, increased nurse continuity is not necessarily associated with a reduction in in-hospital mortality.

In fact, some evidence from their recent study suggests that increased continuity correlates with a “significant increase in mortality.”

The researchers defined “cumulative nurse continuity” as the proportion of 12-hour shifts during which a “patient is cared for by a nurse who had previously attended to them.”

According to the authors, this study examined 47,564 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) with an in-hospital mortality of 10.4%. The researchers noted that the average cumulative nurse continuity increased from 10.2% at shift three to 43.2% at shift 14.

“[I]ncreasing cumulative nurse continuity,” the study stated, “was associated with a modest but statistically significant increase in mortality in some but not all shifts.”

As noted previously, the conventional t suggests that nurse continuity is often valued in the ICU as a correlative index of positive mortality outcomes; however, this study’s findings suggest “it does not necessarily translate into improved patient outcomes,” lead author Kathryn Connell and assistant professor at UPenn explained.

“Our findings,” Connell continued, “indicate that the relationship between nurse continuity and patient outcomes is more complex than previously assumed. Further research is essential to explore the underlying factors contributing to these unexpected results.”

Editor’s note: To read the UPenn press release, click here. To read the study, click here.