Browsing by Subject "Health Workforce"

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    Evaluation of lay health workers on quality of care in the inpatient setting.
    (PloS one, 2023-01) Basnight, Ramona; Berry, Peter; Capes, Kellie; Pearce, Sherri; Thompson, Julie; Allen, Deborah H; Granger, Bradi B; Reynolds, Staci S

    Aims

    To evaluate the impact of a lay health worker support role in the inpatient setting.

    Background

    Healthcare systems are facing critical nursing and nurse assistant staffing shortages. These disciplines can be challenging to recruit and retain, leading healthcare leaders to identify innovative staffing models. Whereas lay health workers have been used in the community and low-income setting, there is scant evidence of their use in the inpatient setting. We implemented a lay health worker role, called Patient Attendant Service Aides (PASAs), on two medical/surgical units at a community hospital.

    Methods

    A pre/post-implementation design was used for this study. An online survey was provided to nurses, nursing assistants, and PASAs on the two medical/surgical units to assess their satisfaction and perceptions of the role. Nursing quality metrics, patient satisfaction, and nursing and nursing assistant turnover were evaluated before and after implementing the role.

    Results

    The online survey showed that nurses and nursing assistants felt that PASAs helped offload their workload, allowing them to focus on nursing-related tasks. PASAs felt supported by the team and believed they were making a meaningful contribution to the unit. There were slight improvements in patient satisfaction, although not significant. There was a significant improvement in nursing turnover on Unit A, from 71.1% to 21.6% (p = 0.009).

    Conclusions

    This is one of the first studies to evaluate the use of lay health workers in the inpatient setting; we found this role to be a feasible way to offload tasks from clinical staff. This role may serve as a pathway for workforce development, as several PASAs are now enrolled in nursing assistant training. Nurse managers may consider using lay health workers in the inpatient setting as they face severe clinical staff shortages.
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    Exploring the Attitudes and Perceptions of Assistant and Registered Medical Officers Toward their Role in Health Care Delivery in Sri Lanka
    (2012) Jones, Elizabeth Diane

    The Assistant and Registered Medical Officers (AMO/RMOs) of Sri Lanka have held a major role in health care delivery, particularly in rural areas. The Sri Lankan government decided to discontinue the AMO training program in 1995 and to phase out the profession completely, without conducting any research on what the impact of this policy decision may be. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of practicing AMO/RMOs from May to July 2012 to gain qualitative preliminary data on how the AMO/RMO profession is viewed by those who work within it. Interviews were conducted primarily in English, with simultaneous translation into Sinhala by a research assistant where necessary. Interview transcripts were reviewed for repeated words and phrases, and overarching themes were drawn from these textual patterns. Analysis of the transcribed interviews yielded themes regarding lack of educational and promotional opportunity, similarities and differences between RMOs and Medical Officers (MOs), barriers to quality of care, gaps in supervision, level of job satisfaction, the nature of working relationships with other health professions, and predictions about the future of the AMO/RMO profession. This preliminary and exploratory data can be used to inform more comprehensive and objective research on the role and impact of AMO/RMOs in the future. It can also inform policy decisions and recommendations regarding health workforce composition and shortage, task-shifting, and use of mid-level providers.