A new Penn Nursing Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) study— published in INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing —has found a strong association between the quality of nurses' work environment and COVID-19 mortality rates among socially vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. The study examined data from 238 acute care hospitals across New York and Illinois. The researchers found that patients from socially vulnerable communities, including those facing higher levels of poverty, housing insecurity, and limited transportation, were more likely to die from COVID-19 if they were hospitalized in hospitals with poor nurse work environments.
Conversely, patients from these communities were less likely to die from COVID-19 if they were hospitalized in hospitals with high-quality nurse work environments. "Our findings suggest that the quality of the nurse work environment is a critical factor in determining outcomes for socially vulnerable patients with COVID-19," said lead-author J. Margo Brooks Carthon, Ph.
D., RN, FAAN, the Tyson Family Endowed Term Chair for Gerontological Research; Professor of Nursing in the Department of Family and Community Health; and Associate Director of CHOPR. "By investing in nursing resources and improving the nurse work environment, hospitals can help to reduce health disparities and save lives.
" The study analyzed data from Medicare claims, American Hospital Association Annual Survey data, and the .