Analyses of Workload and Productivity of 12 Public Hospital Nurses in Region 2 of Thailand - ภาระงานและผลิตภาพของพยาบาล ในโรงพยาบาลของรัฐ 12 แห่ง ในพื้นที่เครือข่ายบริการสุขภาพที่ 2

Abstract

        One method for health workforce planning frequently used in many countries is the workforce demand analysis based on staff workload and time use. This method relies on the analyses of required work time and staff availability in full-time equivalent unit. Empirical findings from the analysis can assist in the planning and workforce management that will lead to appropriate distribution and efficiency in the system. The objective of this research was to study workloads, workload distribution, and staff allocations of nurse professionals in 12 regional, general and district hospitals in Thailand. The hospitals were all is in the Health Service Region 2 under the stewardship of the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public
Health. This study was conducted as a cross-sectional study between April to September 2013, aiming at data for the fiscal year 2012. Data were collected by an electronic questionnaire survey form comprising of 2 components: (1) hospital profile (services provision, capacity and number of staff, and (2) nursing services, work load, and working hours of nurses in each section of the hospitals. It was found that nurses’ workload varied significantly across hospital types and hospital departments. Workloads in inpatient units of most hospitals were higher than the workloads in other departments. When comparing work productivity as a ratio of workloads and staff availability, inpatient nurses in regional and general hospitals had higher productivity than those in district hospitals. On average there were adequate number of nurses in district hospitals comparing to the workload demand. It was recommended that policy makers and stakeholders actively manage nursing workforce effectively to address the problems of overburdened nursing staff
especially in the inpatient units of regional and general hospitals. More studies were needed to improve the methods and tools for workload measurements and patient classification. Analyses of workload and staff
availability should be conducted regularly with the aim to continuously improve health workforce management and development.
Key words: workload, professional nurses