A majority of Massachusetts residents polled say they are voting against a ballot measure calling for mandated nurse staffing ratios at hospitals, The Boston Globe reported.
A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll taken Oct. 24-27 found 59 percent of the 500 likely midterm voters oppose the nurse staffing ballot measure, while 32 percent support it.
Many respondents said input from a nurse they personally know contributed to their decision, rather than political ads, according to the report.
The most recent poll is in contrast to a September poll, which found likely Massachusetts voters were split evenly on the ballot measure.
Question 1, proposed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, calls for mandated nurse staffing ratios that would vary by unit, floor or department. Some instances would call for nurses to care for six patients, while others would call for a 1-to-1 patient-to-nurse ratio.
Supporters such as union leaders argue mandated nurse staffing ratios will improve patient care, and opponents in the hospital industry say the ratios will worsen nurse care delivery, lead to longer emergency room wait times and hurt community hospitals and mental health facilities.
Voters will decide the ballot measure on Nov. 6.