Since the Institute of Medicine issued reports indicating that tens of thousands of important mistakes are made in U.S. hospitals every year, the UNC faculty members also want to learn how nursing staff levels affect such errors, Mark said.

When we are finished, we hope to have a better idea of how nursing contributes to the quality of health care and patient safety, she said. From that, we plan to create interventions hospitals can use to improve the quality of care and patient safety.

Already, more than 130 U.S. hospitals have agreed to participate in the effort, Mark said. All information from hospitals, patients, nurses and others will remain confidential.

Others participating in the research are Drs. Cheryl Jones, associate professor of nursing; Sharon Eck, clinical director of the UNC Womens Hospital; and Michael J. Belyea, research associate professor of nursing.

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Contact: David Williamson
david_williamson@unc.edu
919-962-8596
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
20-Mar-2002