A new study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing has found that high patient loads and high nurse exhaustion rates were associated with an increase in catheter-associated urinary-tract and surgical-site infections among hospital patients.
According to an article on McKnights.com, reducing cather-associated urinary-tract infections remains a top concern among nursing home staff. The study found that urinary-tract-infection rates increased by about one additional infection per 1,000 patients for each additional patient that as added to a nurse’s workload.
Researchers analyzed data from self-reported responses that included emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. They identified emotional exhaustion as the key to burnout syndrome.
The study authors offered the following recommendation, “Healthcare facililties can improve nurse staffing and other elements of the care environment, and alleviate job-related burnout in nurses, at a much lower cost than those associated with healthcare-associated infections.”