Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Leslie Hussey

Abstract

Vulnerable older adults residing in nursing homes continue to experience poor care outcomes due to nurse staffing levels that are below the levels required for maintaining their well-being. Studies have shown that patient care outcomes in nursing homes are related to nurse staffing standards/levels, which are affected by profit maximization on adherence to registered nurses and licensed nurse staffing standards. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine if there was a relationship between adherence to staffing standards and care outcomes in for-profit (FP) and not-for-profit religious-based (NFPRB) nursing homes using the profit maximization theory. Research questions focused on the relationships that profit maximization and nurse staffing standards had on the quality of care outcomes measures and the differences between the nursing homes on these variables. Secondary data were collected from public database and analyzed using the descriptive and inferential statistics, nonparametric tests, and binary logistic regression. Findings showed that profit measures were not related to staffing standards and care outcome measures in the NFPRB. There was a significant relationship between FP nursing homes and standards to care outcomes in FP but not in the NFPRB nursing homes. FP nursing homes did worse than NFPRB on care outcomes. Further research, using qualitative and mixed methodologies, is needed to study the effects of profit measures on nursing home care outcomes. The results of this study can effect positive social change by informing policy makers and healthcare professionals/leaders, and, by reducing adverse events, untimely death, and positively affecting the quality of care and life of the frail and vulnerable older adults residing in nursing homes.

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