SAFE NURSING STAFFING LEVELS: IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF CARE IN A HOSPITAL SETTING

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.01596426200315

• Palavras-chave: nurses; safe staffing levels; quality of care; patient safety.

• Keywords: nurses; safe staffing levels; quality of care; patient safety.

• Abstract:

  Safe nursing staffing levels have been a major concern in the hospital setting. Compliance with these standards is crucial for the quality of nursing care and subsequent patient satisfaction (Barroso et al., 2021). To analyze the impact of safe staffing levels on the quality of nursing care and patient safety. A narrative review of the literature was conducted. The search was conducted in scientific databases in Portuguese, English, and Spanish over the past 5 years. Data collection took place during October and November 2025. We used the following MeSH descriptors: nurse, quality of care, safe, staffing, and workload, along with the Boolean operator AND. The sample consisted of 11 scientific articles. The studies indicate that inadequate nurse-to-patient ratios lead to high nurse turnover, poorer clinical outcomes, and a higher incidence of omissions in nursing care, thereby compromising the quality of care. In this study, we can conclude that the factors facilitating the provision of excellent nursing care are directly related to: the qualifications of nurses, adequate staffing levels relative to workload, a healthy work environment, satisfactory salaries, professional recognition, and support from managers. In the h y setting, safe staffing levels ensure higher quality of care, leading to patient satisfaction and safety. Based on this study, we recommend the use of validated instruments for calculating safe staffing levels in each department.