Nurse staffing has been a focal point of health care research and policy development for decades, recognized widely for its critical role in the quality and sustainability of health care systems. Despite repeated calls for change, inadequate staffing levels that are not based in evidence persist. Robust staffing models such as nurse-patient ratios not only support the delivery of high-quality care but also ensure health care systems are resilient, supportive of the nursing workforce and prepared to meet current and future demands.
The CFNU led the charge and hosted the inaugural national summit on NPRs November 27-28, 2024, to determine actionable next steps for guiding the development of safe mandated minimum NPR policies. These reports draw together existing knowledge around nurse-patient ratios, highlight lessons learned and share recommendations that came from this historic summit.
The nurse-patient ratios evidence reports explore Canadian and global approaches to nurse staffing and consolidate research on the impacts of nurse staffing on patient, nurse and systemic outcomes. They present the current available academic research, legislation and policy efforts to inform future work in this area.
These reports will serve as an evidence base for CFNU’s ongoing work to lead the spread and scale of nurse-patient ratios across Canada.
