Impact - Two Programmes of Research

The Programme of Research on ‘Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix’ and ‘Magnet4Europe’ projects, led by a multidisciplinary team and funded by the Health Research Board, Department of Health, and the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, are driving improvements in patient safety and healthcare workforce wellbeing. By implementing evidence-based frameworks for safe staffing and redesigning hospital workplaces, the research has sought to reduce adverse patient events, enhance clinician job satisfaction, and tackle burnout among healthcare professionals across multiple countries. These initiatives provide a model for transforming healthcare environments, ensuring safer, more supportive settings for both staff and patients in Europe and beyond.

1. Programme Of Research on Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix

Research funded by the Health Research Board and the Department of Health

Determining safe and appropriate nurse staffing levels, that is ensuring that the right nurse is in the right place at the right time, can be challenging and, for many years, decisions on nurse staffing in the Irish healthcare system were based on historical need and legacy issues rather than using a systematic, evidence-based approach. Previous research has identified that failings in care and poor nurse staffing can result in adverse patient outcomes including mortality and failure to rescue as well as outcomes affecting nursing staff such as increased staff turnover, burnout and decreased job satisfaction. To address these issues, the Department of Health published the Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix which is an evidence based approach to determine nurse and healthcare assistant staffing and skill mix based on patient/resident acuity. The research team previously tested the implementation of this evidence-based approach to safe nurse staffing in medical and surgical wards and acute floor settings (emergency departments, local injury units, acute medical assessment units). The results from pilot sites have demonstrated that the implementation of the Framework in medical and surgical settings and in the adult emergency care settings have resulted in several positive outcomes including a reduction in adverse patient events, a reduction in missed care, and an increase in staff levels of job satisfaction. However, as the recommendations have been in place for over three years, it is now timely to conduct longitudinal research in these areas to examine the impact on patients, staff and healthcare organisations. Additionally, work is currently underway in the Long-Term Residential Care setting to determine safe staffing and skill mix based on resident acuity. The results from the research team at UCC and UCD were central to the publication of major policy documents by the Department of Health such as, a Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Ireland 2018 and The Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in Adult Emergency Care Settings in Ireland 2022. These documents outline for the first time in Ireland the process to ensure that wards and emergency departments are safely staffed to meet patient need and to ensure their safety.

The research report and the Framework can be accessed here:

gov - Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix: Phase 2 (www.gov.ie)

The Programme of Research into Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill-Mix has its own website which will be updated with information on the project, the people involved, research outputs, and news and upcoming events. The website can be accessed here: Programme of Research into Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix - UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems

People

Programme Lead: Professor Jonathan Drennan (UCD) Co-Lead: Dr Vera Mc Carthy (UCC)

Co-applicants: Professor Anne Scott (NUIG); Professor John Browne (UCC); Professor Christine; Duffield (University of Technology Sydney); Dr Aileen Murphy (UCC); Professor Peter Griffiths (University of Southampton)

Collaborators: Professor Eileen Savage (UCC); Professor Josephine Hegarty (UCC); Professor Jane Ball (University of Southampton); Professor Cathy Pope (University of Southampton).

Research Team (UCC):  Dr Ashling Murphy (Research Fellow); Dr Hamid Heidarian Miri (Post-doctoral Researcher); Ms Rachel Linehan (Research Assistant) Dr Noeleen Brady (Post-doctoral Researcher)

2. ‘Magnet4Europe’: Programme of research to improve clinician mental health, wellbeing and patient safety

Research funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme

In 2013, the EU's Joint Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing recognized mental health as a priority and aimed to improve prevention, diagnosis, and care for mental disorders across Member States. Healthcare professionals, numbering over 23 million in Europe, are particularly prone to burnout—a combination of exhaustion, cynicism, and perceived inefficacy due to prolonged job stress. Burnout is more prevalent among healthcare workers than in other fields.

To address this, the Magnet4Europe initiative, which began in 2020, seeks to enhance mental health and wellbeing among healthcare workers and improve patient safety across over 60 hospitals in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. The project involves a comprehensive redesign of hospital workplaces, supported by partnerships with experienced Magnet-recognized hospitals known for their exemplary work environments. Hospitals will also participate in an annual learning collaborative to share best practices and strategies.

Magnet4Europe's objectives include implementing an evidence-based intervention to create better work environments, evaluating its impact on staff mental health, productivity, and patient outcomes, and analysing its cost-effectiveness. The project also aims to identify factors that influence successful implementation and to encourage the model's expansion to more hospitals and broader healthcare settings across Europe.

Overall, Magnet4Europe represents a concerted effort to tackle burnout in healthcare by creating healthier work environments, ultimately benefiting both staff and patients

‘Magnet4Europe’ project has its own website which is updated with information on the project, the people involved, research outputs, and news and upcoming events. The website can be accessed here: MAGNET4EUROPE - Home

People

Programme Lead: Professor Jonathan Drennan (UCD) Co-Lead: Dr Elaine Lehane (UCC)

Co-applicants: Dr Vera Mc Carthy (UCC); Professor Anne Scott (NUIG)

Collaborators: See Magnet4Europe (Network tab) website for consortium members across 6 European countries and USA.

Research Team (UCC): Dr Noeleen Brady (Senior Post-doctoral Researcher)