40. Administrators at a hospital find that increasing the number of nurses on a shift increases the patient satisfaction scores. What type of relationship is demonstrated?
Answer: D
Positive association
Increasing the number of nurses on a shift is associated with higher patient satisfaction scores, indicating a positive relationship between these two variables. As one variable increases, the other also tends to increase, demonstrating a direct correlation.
A) Negative causation
Negative causation implies that as one variable increases, the other decreases. Since the scenario indicates that more nurses lead to higher satisfaction, this option does not accurately reflect the relationship described.
B) Positive causation
While causation suggests a direct cause-and-effect relationship, the term "positive causation" is not commonly used in this context. The relationship observed is more accurately described as a positive association rather than a causative effect.
C) Negative association
A negative association would indicate that an increase in one variable leads to a decrease in the other. This contradicts the findings that increasing the number of nurses correlates with higher patient satisfaction, thus making this option incorrect.
D) Positive association
This option correctly identifies the relationship where an increase in the number of nurses is linked to an increase in patient satisfaction scores. It aligns perfectly with the observations stated in the question.
Conclusion
The positive association between the number of nurses and patient satisfaction scores indicates that increasing staffing levels is beneficial for patient experiences. All other options fail to accurately describe the observed relationship, reinforcing that more nurses correlate with higher satisfaction rather than any negative or ambiguous relationship.