Date: 08/24/2023

Author(s): Molly Candon, Alon Bergman, Amber Rose, Hummy Song, Guy David, and Joanne Spetz

 

Nurse turnover can compromise the quality and continuity of home health care. Scope of practice laws, which determine the tasks nurses are allowed to perform and delegate, are an important element of autonomy and vary across states. In this study, researchers used human resource records from a multistate home health organization to examine the relationship between nurse turnover and whether nurses can delegate tasks to unlicensed aides. Across state-years, the turnover rate was 30.8% for licensed practical nurses and 36.8% for registered nurses. Although there was no significant relationship between task delegation and turnover among registered nurses, researchers found that states in which nurses could delegate the most tasks had lower turnover rates among licensed practical nurses. The ability to delegate tasks to unlicensed aides was correlated with lower turnover rates among licensed practical nurses, but not among registered nurses. This suggests that the ability to delegate tasks is more likely to affect the workload of licensed practical nurses. This also points to a potential and unexplored element of expanding the scope of practice for nurses: reduced turnover. Given the added work-related hazards associated with home health care, including working in isolation, a lack of social recognition, and inadequate reimbursement, states should consider whether changes in their policy environment could benefit nurses working in home health.