Predicting nursing human resources: an exploratory study

The nurse-to-population ratio (NPOP) is a standard indicator used to indicate a country's health care human resources capacity for responding to its disease burden. This study sought to explore if socioeconomic development indicators could predict the NPOP in a country. Mexico served as the case example for this exploratory study, with the final five variables selected based on findings from a qualitative study analyzing the development of nursing human resources in the country. Multiple linear regression showed that two variables proved significant predictors of the NPOP and the model itself explained 70% of the variance (r( 2) = .7; p = .0000). The findings have multiple implications for nursing human resources policy in Mexico and at a global level as governments attempt to build human capital to respond to population health needs.