Nursing workforce allocation in the intensive care units of COVID‐19‐designated hospitals: A nationwide cross‐sectional survey in China

Abstract

Abstract Aim To explore the nursing workforce allocation in intensive care units (ICUs) of COVID‐19‐designated hospitals during the epidemic peak in China. Design A nationwide cross‐sectional online survey. Methods A total of 37 head nurses and 262 frontline nurses in 37 ICUs of COVID‐19‐designated tertiary hospitals located in 22 cities of China were surveyed. The self‐reported human resource allocation questionnaire was used to assess the nursing workforce allocation. Results The average patient‐to‐nurse ratio was 1.89 ± 1.14, and the median working hours per shift was 5 h. The top four majors of front‐line nurses in ICUs were respiratory (31.30%), lemology (27.86%), intensive care (21.76%) and emergency (17.18%). We also found that a smaller average patient‐to‐nurse ratio (odds ratio [OR]: 0.328, 95% CI: 0.108, 1.000), longer average weekly rest time per person (OR: 0.193, 95% CI: 0.051, 0.729) and larger proportion of 6–9 working years (OR: 0.002, 95% CI: 0.001, 1.121) decreased the occurrence of nursing adverse events.

Keywords

• clinical competence
• COVID‐19
• designated hospitals
• intensive care units
• nursing workforce
• personnel staffing and scheduling