A path analysis study of retention of healthcare professionals in urban India using health information technology

Human resource shortage in India's health sector: a scoping review of the current landscape

BACKGROUND

For healthcare delivery to be optimally effective, health systems must possess adequate levels and we must ensure a fair distribution of human resources aimed at healthcare facilities. We conducted a scoping review to map the current state of human resources for health (HRH) in India and the reasons behind its shortage.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted in various electronic databases, from the earliest available date till February 2024. We applied a uniform analytical framework to all the primary research reports and adopted the "descriptive-analytical" method from the narrative paradigm. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to arrange the retrieved data into categories based on related themes after creating a chart of HRH problems.

RESULTS

A total of 9675 articles were retrieved for this review. 88 full texts were included for the final data analysis. The shortage was addressed in 30.6% studies (n = 27) whereas 69.3% of studies (n = 61) addressed reasons for the shortage. The thematic analysis of data regarding reasons for the shortage yielded five kinds of HRH-related problems such as inadequate HRH production, job dissatisfaction, brain drain, regulatory issues, and lack of training, monitoring, and evaluation that were causing a scarcity of HRH in India.

CONCLUSION

There has been a persistent shortage and inequitable distribution of human resources in India with the rural expert cadres experiencing the most severe shortage. The health department needs to establish a productive recruitment system if long-term solutions are to be achieved. It is important to address the slow and sporadic nature of the recruitment system and the issue of job insecurity among medical officers, which in turn affects their other employment benefits, such as salary, pension, and recognition for the years of service.

Investigating healthcare workforce recruitment and retention: a mixed-methods study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Although the sustainability of the health workforce has been identified as essential to achieving health and wider development objectives, challenges with securing and retaining the healthcare workforce persist. In the UK, there are notable shortages across a wide range of National Health Service (NHS) staff groups, with a high staff turnover indicating retention issues in the healthcare workforce. In addition, gaps exist in understanding the root cause of individual organisation's workforce deficiencies and how their practice environment factors interact to impact workforce recruitment and retention.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

An exploratory mixed-methods approach will be conducted to investigate the impact of organisational practice environment factors on healthcare workforce recruitment and retention in two Integrated Care Systems (ICS) in the East of England. We will conduct an online survey of newly qualified and established nurses and allied health professionals using a questionnaire adapted from two validated instruments. Our calculation suggests a sample size of 373 participants, we will aim to surpass this in our recruitment to strengthen the statistical analyses. Multilevel linear regression models will be fitted to evaluate the association between organisational practice environmental factors and staff recruitment and retention. The qualitative interviews will explore the experiences and perspectives of staff and senior leaders to explain the survey results and any significant associations therein. Also, the interviews will explore how to strengthen the partnership between higher education institutions, Health Education England, health and care service providers, NHS nursing and allied health professional staff to enhance recruiting and retaining staff. An exploratory inductive coding and analysis will follow Braun and Clarke's recommendations to generate key themes from transcribed interview data.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval has been obtained through the University of Suffolk Research Ethics Committee (approval number: RETH(S)22/051). Findings from our work will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed journals; presentations at stakeholders' events, professional and academic conferences; and short reports for stakeholders, including participating ICSs.

Association between the amount of rehabilitation and the outcomes in patients with aspiration pneumonia

The appropriate amount of rehabilitation for aspiration pneumonia remains unknown. We conducted a historical cohort study to investigate the association between the amount of rehabilitation provided and the outcome of patients with aspiration pneumonia. A total of 4148 patients with aspiration pneumonia recruited from a database created by JMDC were categorized into three groups based on daily rehabilitation units: none or <1 unit (low-volume group), 1-2 units (medium-volume group), and more than 2 units (high-volume group). The main outcome measures were death in the hospital, discharge home, and length of hospital stay. The results showed that the middle-volume and high-volume groups had significantly fewer in-hospital deaths [middle-volume group, odds ratio (OR) 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.46-0.83; high-volume group, OR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.45-0.97], more patients were discharged home (middle-volume group, OR 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.62; high-volume group, OR 2.00; 95% CI, 1.48-2.71), and shorter hospital stay (middle-volume group, coefficient -3.30; 95% CI, -6.42 to -0.19; high-volume group, coefficient -4.54; 95% CI, -8.69 to -0.40) compared with the low-volume group. In conclusion, higher rehabilitation units per day provided to patients with aspiration pneumonia were associated with fewer deaths, more home discharges, and shorter hospital stays.

Why Do They Leave? The Counterplans to Continue Working among Preschool Workers in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Three institutions predominantly care for preschool children in Japan: kindergartens, authorized childcare institutions, and nursery centers. Recently, the turnover rates of preschool workers in these institutions have been high, and Japan has been facing a shortage of kindergarten teachers. The study aimed to provide concrete counterplans to reduce preschool workers' turnover rate. To determine the causes of turnover, we conducted a cross-sectional survey. We recruited preschool workers from several kindergartens, authorized childcare institutions, and nursery centers in Japan to fill out a survey regarding counterplans for employment. Of the 1002 surveys, 551 (541 women; 10 men) complete surveys were received (response rate: 55%). A total of 295 participants answered that they were unwilling to continue working for longer than five years and completed the questionnaires. The Jiro Kawakita method was used to categorize and analyze the four sections of the counterplan questionnaires. The results showed that the main reasons for high turnover were overtime work, low salary, and difficult human relations. To solve these issues, the counterplan ideas such as workshop ideas and conditions conducive to continuing working longer were related to human relations, work conditions, and mental health.

Making doctors stay: Rethinking doctor retention policy in a contracted-out primary healthcare setting in urban Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

"Contracting Out" is a popular strategy to expand coverage and utilization of health services. Bangladesh began contracting out primary healthcare services to NGOs in urban areas through the Urban Primary Health Care Project (UPHCP) in 1998. Over the three phases of this project, retention of trained and skilled human resources, especially doctors, proved to be an intractable challenge. This paper highlights the issues influencing doctor's retention both in managerial as well as service provision level in the contracted-out setting.

METHODOLOGY

In this qualitative study, 42 Key Informant Interviews were undertaken with individuals involved with UPHCP in various levels including relevant ministries, project personnel representing the City Corporations and municipalities, NGO managers and doctors. Verbatim transcripts were coded in ATLAS.ti and analyzed using the thematic analysis. Document review was done for data triangulation.

RESULTS

The most cited problem was a low salary structure in contrast to public sector pay scale followed by a dearth of other financial incentives such as performance-based incentives, provident funds and gratuities. Lack of career ladder, for those in both managerial and service delivery roles, was also identified as a factor hindering staff retention. Other disincentives included inadequate opportunities for training to improve clinical skills, ineffective staffing arrangements, security issues during night shifts, abuse from community members in the context of critical patient management, and lack of job security after project completion.

CONCLUSIONS

An adequate, efficient and dedicated health workforce is a pre-requisite for quality service provision and patient utilization of these services. Improved career development opportunities, the provision of salaries and incentives, and a safer working environment are necessary actions to retain and motivate those serving in managerial and service delivery positions in contracting out arrangements.

Factors associated with kindergarten teachers' willingness to continue working

The turnover rate among kindergarten teachers in advanced countries is extremely high. As such, there is an urgent need to determine the reasons for this turnover and to identify ways to prevent it. The current study investigates the individual and environmental factors that impact kindergarten teachers' willingness to continue working.A total of 600 kindergarten teachers in Japan participated in this study. Participants responded to questionnaires regarding their willingness to continue working, mental health, work engagement, and the availability of social support. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to analyze participants' data, with willingness to continue working for 5 or more years as the dependent variable. Additionally, Spearman rank correlation was used to examine the correlations between factors associated with willingness to continue working.Factors such as older age, living with a spouse, caring for younger children (up to 2 years old) at work, good mental health, and higher work engagement were significantly associated with teachers' higher willingness to continue working. Factors such as marriage, health and family problems, overtime work, issues with workplace childcare, and education policy, working time/day problems, human relations, and difficulties taking care of children were correlated with teachers' lack of willingness to continue working.The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that welfare benefits and individual support systems could be key elements to encourage kindergarten teachers to continue working and could lead to their improved job satisfaction and mental health. Balanced work conditions and workers' high agreement with their workplace's overall childcare or educational policies may lead to lower turnover. Some programs - such as relationship counselling - could have a positive impact on teachers' mental health and job satisfaction.

Model of Organizational Commitment Applied to Health Management Systems

In this paper, we try to build on the problems surrounding the management of human resources in health care organizations worldwide. After the analysis of the reviewed literature, we detected that the scientific community considers several recurring themes that need attention: stress, burnout, and turnover intention. Based on this, we developed a model of organizational commitment that aims to achieve performance and health quality, its main result the establishment of the appropriate management policies in order to avoid the abandonment of the organization through the search for commitment and job satisfaction. Amongst our main conclusions, we highlight the need to implement a human resources model for hospital administrators based on the relationships with "patients" not "clients" through the maintenance of a positive and strong atmosphere of staff participation. It is important to develop innovative practices related to clear job design that eliminate reasons for ambiguity and stress in executing the tasks of the healthcare system. Finally, we urge training programs in transformational leadership to promote the well-being and organizational commitment of employees.

The Applicability of the Modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) on the Sustainable Adoption of eHealth Systems in Resource-Limited Settings

BACKGROUND

The implementation of eHealth systems with a trial-and-error approach is very expensive and unsuccessful. So, this study aims to examine the constructs and relationships of the modified technology acceptance model (TAM) to determine whether it can be applied to assess health professional's behavioral intention to adopt eHealth systems in resource-limited settings or not.

METHODS

The institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among a total of 384 healthcare professionals in referral hospitals of Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data, and the data were entered using Epi-info version 7 and the descriptive data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Structural equation modeling, using AMOS 22, was also applied to describe and validate the degree of relationships between variables.

RESULTS

The findings of the structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that perceived usefulness has a significant influence on attitude (β =0.298, P<0.01) and intention to use eHealth (β =0.387, P<0.01). Perceived ease of use has significant influence on perceived usefulness (β=0.385, P<0.05) and attitude (β=0.347, P<0.05) and intention to use eHealth (β=0.339, P<0.01). Technical infrastructure has significant influence on attitude (β =0.412, P<0.01) and intention to use eHealth (β =0.355, P<0.01). The staffs IT experience has a significant influence on perceived usefulness (β =0.595, P<0.01) and attitude (β =0.267, P<0.05), but the effect of IT experience on the intention to use eHealth was not significant. Among all the constructs, healthcare professionals attitude towards eHealth showed the strongest effect on the intention to use eHealth systems (β = 0.52, P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Overall, this model describes 56.2% of the variance in behavioral intention to use eHealth systems. Therefore, the implementers should give priority in enhancing the organizations technical infrastructure, staff's IT skill, and their attitude towards eHealth by giving continuous support.

Practice scope and job confidence of two-year trained optometry technicians in Eritrea

BACKGROUND

A two-year optometry technician (OT) training was started in Eritrea in 2009 to fulfill the immediate human resource needs in providing refractive, dispensing and primary eye care services in vision centers. This study aimed to assess the current practice pattern and confidence level among the OTs.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire was developed and administered to all available OTs in January 2017. The OTs were identified through the Ministry of Health's database. The questionnaire included questions on demographics, scope of practice and confidence level in the clinical practice areas.

RESULTS

A total of 94 OTs had graduated by the end of 2016 and 71 (75.5%) of them were involved in the country's eye care services. All the 70 OTs who completed the survey were working under the Ministry of Health in various regions of the country. The mean age of the OTs was 25.6 ± 4.7 years (range: 20 to 48 years) and 43 (61.4%) of them were male. Four out of six regions in the country lacked the required number of OTs for the recommended ratio of one refractionist to 50,000 population. All the OTs provided refraction services; however, they lacked experience in dispensing (62.9%), clinical examination of patients (35.7%) and low vision care (4.3%). While the OTs expressed confidence in refractive procedures, low levels of confidence were expressed for dispensing and primary eye care services.

CONCLUSION

OTs contributed to the primary eye care sector in Eritrea. However, high attrition rate, imbalanced distribution, a limited practice in core areas and low clinical confidence were the key challenges for this profession in this country. With better facilities, improved infrastructure and extended education and career opportunities, the two-year trained OTs could potentially serve further in the Eritrean eye care system. Further studies to evaluate the competency, job satisfaction and effectiveness OTs are recommended.

External validation of the unified model of information systems continuance (UMISC): An international comparison

CONTEXT

The Unified Model of Information Systems Continuance (UMISC) is a metamodel for the evaluation of clinical information systems (CISs) that integrates constructs from five models that have previously been published in the literature. UMISC was developed at the Georges Pompidou University Hospital (HEGP) in Paris and was partially validated at the Saint Joseph Hospital Group (HPSJ), another acute care institution using the same CIS as HEGP.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this replication study was twofold: (1) to perform an external validation of UMISC in two different hospitals and country contexts: the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires (HIBA) in Argentina and the Hospital Sirio Libanes in Sao Paulo, Brazil (HSL); (2) to compare, using the same evaluation model, the determinants of satisfaction, use, and continuance intention observed at HIBA and HSL with those previously observed at HEGP and HPSJ.

METHODS

The UMISC evaluation questionnaires were translated from their original languages (English and French) to Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish following the translation/back-translation method. These questionnaires were then applied at each target site. The 21 UMISC-associated hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

RESULTS

A total of 3020 users, 1079 at HIBA and 1941 at the HSL, were included in the analysis. The respondents included 1406 medical staff and 1001 nursing staff. The average profession-adjusted use, overall satisfaction and continuance intention were significantly higher at HIBA than at HSL in the medical and nursing groups. In SEM analysis, UMISC explained 23% and 11% of the CIS use dimension, 72% and 85% of health professionals' satisfaction, and 41% and 60% of continuance intention at HIBA and HSL, respectively. Twenty of the 21 UMISC-related hypotheses were validated in at least one of the four evaluation sites, and 16 were validated in two or more sites.

CONCLUSION

The UMISC evaluation metamodel appears to be a robust comparison and explanatory model of satisfaction, use and continuance intention for CISs in late post adoption situations.

Shortage and inequalities in the distribution of specialists across community health centres in Uttar Pradesh, 2002-2012

BACKGROUND

The onus of providing affordable access to specialist services in rural India primarily lies with publicly funded rural hospitals, also known as community health centres (CHCs). However, no studies have attempted to measure the change in the shortage and distributional inequalities of specialists in the publicly funded rural hospitals of Uttar Pradesh (India). This study attempts to fill that gap.

METHODS

The study uses data from the three latest rounds of the District-Level Household Survey, covering a period of 10 years spanning from 2002 to 2012. Shortages were measured against the Indian Public Health Standards for CHCs, and inequalities were measured using Gini and Theil indices, with the latter decomposed to reveal the source of the inequalities. Negative binomial regression was applied to examine the association between facility characteristics and the availability of specialists in CHCs.

RESULTS

The current shortage of specialists stands at 80.7% of the total requirement. Currently, 62.1% of CHCs are functioning without a specialist. The distribution of specialists across CHCs has become progressively uneven over the study period, as shown by the rise in the Gini index (from 0.41 in 2002-2004 to 0.74 in 2012-2013). Decomposition analysis reveals that the contribution of within-district inequalities to overall inequality remains high (85.4% of total inequality). About 50% of within-district inequality is contributed by only 20 districts, most of which belong to eastern and central Uttar Pradesh. The analysis of factors affecting the distribution of the current specialist workforce revealed that the number of available specialists at a CHC is positively associated with the availability of residences for doctors and regular electricity supply, and negatively associated with CHC location and the distance of the CHC from the district headquarters.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that Uttar Pradesh not only needs to recruit more specialists, but it also requires proper implementation of deployment and retention policies to ensure equitable access to specialist care for rural populations. Ensuring the availability of quality accommodations and basic amenities at all CHCs, as well as adequate transport and rural allowance, could help increase the chances of specialists staying in rural and far-off CHCs.

Information Technology-Assisted Treatment Planning and Performance Assessment for Severe Thalassemia Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Observational Study

Background

Successful models of information and communication technology (ICT) applied to cost-effective delivery of quality care in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are an increasing necessity. Severe thalassemia is one of the most common life-threatening noncommunicable diseases of children globally.

Objective

The aim was to study the impact of ICT on quality of care for severe thalassemia patients in LMIC.

Methods

A total of 1110 patients with severe thalassemia from five centers in India were followed over a 1-year period. The impact of consistent use of a Web-based platform designed to assist comprehensive management of severe thalassemia (ThalCare) on key indicators of quality of care such as minimum (pretransfusion) hemoglobin, serum ferritin, liver size, and spleen size were assessed.

Results

Overall improvements in initial hemoglobin, ferritin, and liver and spleen size were significant (P<.001 for each). For four centers, the improvement in mean pretransfusion hemoglobin level was statistically significant (P<.001). Four of five centers achieved reduction in mean ferritin levels, with two displaying a significant drop in ferritin (P=.004 and P<.001). One of the five centers did not record liver and spleen size on palpation, but of the remaining four centers, two witnessed a large drop in liver and spleen size (P<.01), one witnessed moderate drop (P=.05 for liver; P=.03 for spleen size), while the fourth witnessed a moderate increase in liver size (P=.08) and insignificant change in spleen size (P=.12).

Conclusions

Implementation of computer-assisted treatment planning and performance assessment consistently and positively impacted indexes reflecting effective delivery of care to patients suffering from severe thalassemia in LMIC.

Evaluation of the unified model of information systems continuance (UMISC) in two hospital environments

CONTEXT

The deployment and long-term acceptance of clinical information systems (CISs) are faced with multiple difficulties. They include insufficient quality of the systems in place and resistance to the multiple changes they induce in care processes. Permanent evaluation of deployed solutions is a prerequisite to their continuous improvement.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) To validate the post-adoption unified model of information systems continuance (UMISC) progressively developed at the Georges Pompidou University Hospital (HEGP) in Paris (internal validation); and (2) To compare, using the same evaluation model, the results observed at HEGP with those of the Saint-Joseph Hospital Group (HPSJ), another Paris acute care institution (external validation).

METHODS

The UMISC post-adoption model is built around nine dimensions: end-user characteristics, social norm (SN), IS quality (ISQ), facilitating conditions (FC), perceived usefulness (PU), confirmation of expectations (CE), profession-adjusted use (PAU), satisfaction (SAT), and continuance intention (CI). Two semi-quantitative evaluation surveys were performed at HEGP in 2014 and 2015, and one at HPSJ in 2015. Statistical analysis included multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).

RESULTS

The analysis concerned 459 responders, 264 at HEGP and 195 at HPSJ. UMISC indicators, with the exception of SN, are superior at HEGP than at HPSJ, which had a shorter CIS anteriority than HEGP. In SEM analysis, the UMISC model explained 25% and 40% of the CIS use, 92% and 93% of health professionals' satisfaction, and 72% and 71% of continuance intention at HEGP and HPSJ, respectively. Seventeen of the 21 tested UMISC hypotheses were supported in at least one of the two sites.

CONCLUSION

The UMISC evaluation model can be used as a comparison and explanatory model of CIS use, satisfaction and continuance intention in post-CIS adoption situations that become prevalent in current electronic hospitals.

Use of information and communication technology and retention of health workers in rural post-war conflict Northern Uganda: findings from a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Information and communication technologies have become a vital infrastructural asset for use in the retention of rural health workers. However, little is known about the potential influence of ICT use, perceptions of health workers on ICT in healthcare delivery, and contribution of ICT to health care providers' retention in rural and remote areas in rural post-war and conflict situations of northern Uganda.

METHODS

Data from interviews were transcribed, coded and thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Participants generally exhibited low confidence, knowledge and low ICT skills. Majority of participants, however, perceived ICT as beneficial in relation to job performance and health care provider retention in rural areas. Common barriers for the implementation and use of ICT in health centres were inadequate ICT knowledge and skills, poor Internet networks, inadequate computers, inadequate power supply, lack of Internet Modems and expensive access to outside computer centres.

CONCLUSIONS

This qualitative study showed low confidence, poor knowledge and skills in ICT usage but positive perceptions about the benefits and contributions of ICT. These findings suggest the need for specific investment in ICT infrastructural development for health care providers in remote rural areas of northern Uganda.

The influence of a telehealth project on healthcare professional recruitment and retention in remote areas in Mali: A longitudinal study

Objectives:

The telehealth project EQUI-ResHuS (in French, Les TIC pour un accès Équitable aux Ressources Humaines en Santé) aimed to contribute to more equitable access to care and support practice in remote regions in Mali. This study explored the evolution of perceptions concerning telehealth among healthcare professionals in the four district health centres that participated in the EQUI-ResHus project and identified variables influencing their perceptions of telehealth impact on recruitment and retention of health professionals.

Methods:

One year after a first survey (T1), a second data collection (T2) was carried out among healthcare professionals using a 91-item questionnaire. Questions assessing telehealth use and perceptions and perceived impact on recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 10 independent variables were considered for the analyses. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to detect differences between T1 and T2, and a bivariate linear regression model for repeated measures was carried out to assess the impact of independent variables on dependent variables.

Results:

There were no noticeable changes in perceptions related to telehealth influence on recruitment and retention. Only access to information and communication technology significantly differed between T1 and T2 according the Wilcoxon rank test (p = 0.001). Perceived influence of telehealth on recruitment and retention was mostly explained by attitude towards telehealth, perceived effect on recruitment and retention and barriers to recruitment and retention.

Conclusion:

Based on our results, telehealth was perceived as having a positive influence but mostly indirect influence on healthcare professional recruitment and retention. Also, there were no major changes after 1 year of telehealth use.