Mortality in magnet hospitals: a systematic review

Abstract

Magnet hospitals are recognized for quality patient outcomes and nursing excellence. It was aimed to examine the effects of Magnet hospitals on mortality rate. Searches for this review were carried out using the PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL databases without any year limitation. Search terms included Magnet hospitals, non‑Magnet hospitals, and mortality. Inclusion criteria were: The identified 58 articles published in international journals, and 13 of those articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review. This systematic review adhered to the PRISMA guideline. Articles meeting the research criteria were evaluated for methodological quality with the Joanna Briggs Institute Meta‑Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI‑MAStARI) Critical Appraisal Tool. The research types used of the included studies were descriptive comparative research (n = 8), cohort study (n = 4), and retrospective, two‑stage panel design (n = 1). Three descriptive comparative studies found that there was no difference in the mortality rates of Magnet hospitals and non‑Magnet hospitals. By contrast, five descriptive comparative studies and five longitudinal studies determined that mortality rates were lower in Magnet hospitals. Overall, the findings of this systematic review indicated that Magnet hospitals are associated with lower rates of mortality. Considering the organizational consequences of mortality such as quality and cost savings, this systematic review provides significant contributions to hospital executives, as well as the nurse‑clinicians, whether or not to obtain magnet status.