Relationship Between Shortage of Nursing Staff and COVID-19 Mortality and Infection in Rural and Urban Nursing Homes in the State of Minnesota

The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for nursing homes in the United States, including those in Minnesota, due to shortages of nursing staff and the impact on resident care quality. This study aimed to assess the relationship between nursing staff shortages and COVID-19 mortality and infections among nursing home residents in Minnesota. The analysis used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services public database, considering rural and urban locations. The independent variables were nursing staff shortages, and the dependent variables were COVID-19 total resident deaths and COVID-19 total resident infections in nursing homes in Minnesota. Following the Donabedian theory, the study used a retrospective cohort quasi-experimental research design to determine the impact of nursing staff shortages on COVID-19 deaths and infections among nursing home residents. Multiple linear regression was used with a significance level of 0.05 to check for the null hypothesis. The findings revealed that nursing staff shortages did not significantly correlate with COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota. However, when accounting for rural and urban locations, the data showed a significant connection between rural and urban nursing homes and COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota. As for the second research question, the study found a substantial link between nursing staff shortages and confirmed COVID-19 infection rates in Minnesota after adjusting for urban and rural locations. The study's findings can contribute to positive social change by assisting healthcare administrators in making more informed decisions during medical emergencies, especially for rural communities, and improving patient care quality within their organizations.