Number (%) of negative QuIS ratings out of staff/patient interactions involving an RN, an HCA, a student nurse or unspecified RN/HCA, by RN and HCA staffing level, along with aORs (95% CI) of a negative QuIS rating in comparison to the reference combination (n=2879)
| Number (%), negative QuIS OR (95% CI) | Patients per HCA | Split by RN staffing ratio | |||
| <7 | 7–8 | >8 | |||
| Patients per RN | ≤ 6 | 11/373 (3%) 0.16 (0.03 to 0.73) | 23/242 (10%) 0.81 (0.18 to 3.70) | 48/414 (12%) 1.50 (0.35 to 6.42) | 82/1029 (8%) 0.89 (0.31 to 2.55) |
| >6 to < 8 | 4/256 (2%) 0.09 (0.02 to 0.50) | 70/656 (11%) 1.00 | 22/236 (9%) 0.87 (0.23 to 3.26) | 96/1148 (8%) 1.00 | |
| ≥ 8 | 63/418 (15%) 2.12 (0.62 to 7.30) | 24/217 (11%) 0.85 (0.22 to 3.29) | 11/67 (16%) 1.05 (0.18 to 6.21) | 98/702 (14%) 3.16 (1.20 to 8.36) | |
| Split by HCA staffing ratio | 78/1047 (7%) 0.34 (0.13 to 0.94) | 117/1115 (11%) 1.00 | 81/719 (11%) 1.36 (0.53 to 3.49) |
Whole group
276/2879 (10%) | |
*Controlled for patient, interaction and ward characteristics, with observation session and patient included as random effects. Main RN staffing level effect, p=0.021; main HCA staffing level effect, p=0.035.
HCA, healthcare assistant; QuIS, Quality of Interaction Schedule; RN, registered nurse.