Study reveals worse patient outcomes in Black-serving hospitals
A new study from researchers at Penn Nursing has uncovered concerning disparities in patient outcomes, specifically related to nursing care, within hospitals that predominantly serve Black communities.
1 min. read
A new study published in Nursing Research has uncovered concerning disparities in patient outcomes, specifically related to nursing care, within hospitals that predominantly serve Black communities. The research, which analyzed data from over 3,000 hospitals across the United States, reveals that these Black-serving hospitals (BSHs) exhibit significantly higher rates of specific adverse patient events.
The study from Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR), utilizing data from 2019 to 2022, examines four key nursing-sensitive indicators: pressure ulcers, perioperative pulmonary embolus/deep vein thrombosis, postoperative sepsis, and “failure to rescue,” which refers to death following serious surgical complications.
While the overall average rates for these indicators were 0.59 for pressure ulcers, 3.38 for perioperative pulmonary embolus/deep vein thrombosis, 4.12 for sepsis, and 143.58 for failure to rescue, the study reveals a significant divergence when comparing BSH categories.
“We observed a clear trend,” says lead-author Eileen T. Lake, the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology; professor of nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences; and associate director of CHOPR. “Hospitals serving a higher proportion of Black patients demonstrated significantly elevated rates of pressure ulcers, postoperative sepsis, and perioperative pulmonary embolus/deep vein thrombosis.” The failure-to-rescue rates did not show significant differences across the BSH categories.
These findings underscore the urgent need to address systemic factors contributing to these disparities. Further research is crucial to understand the underlying mechanisms, particularly the relationship between nursing resources, such as staffing and the work environment, and patient outcomes in these hospitals.
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