Primary Care Unit Staff Requirements by the Workload Analysis Approach

Abstract

Changes in environmental context and health care reform have meant that primary care units need appropriate staff. This study was aimed to explore the primary care staff requirements based on the workload analysis and to compare with those estimated by the existing methods (population ratio).

In the four regions each of 8 purposively selected provinces, 4 qualified primary care units and 4 under-qualified primary care units were chosen. Data collection tools included a workload checklist and questionnaires. Statistical analyses used were percentage, means, and standard deviation SD. The annual man-hour of the staff of the 16 qualified primary care units (PCUs) in each activity was used as a criteria for health manpower requirement.

On average, the mean registered population of each primary care unit was 6,704 while that of the qualified PCU was lower. However the out patient workload was higher than that of the underqualified PCU. On average, PCU staff had allocated their time on 5 main activities: out patient services, administration, community outreach, continuity of care, and research or innovations, respectively. An estimate of the staff needed based on such activities showed that each unit required only 4.0 persons which was significantly lower than the estimate based on the population ratio method (5.6 health workers). However, the staff requirement by the workload method yielded a result close to the existing number of staff (4.3 health-workers).

The results showed that, using the workload to plan for the staffing needs, the number of the existing staff was adequate to work. The population ratio method of staff planning yields higher number of health worker and might not reflect the requirement in reality. The decision-maker should have considered the appropriate methods for the effective staff planning.