Development of a Methodology for Healthcare System Simulations to Quantify Nurse Workload and Quality of Care

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSIntensive workload for nurses due to high demands directly impacts the quality of care and nurses’ health. To better manage workload, it is necessary to understand the drivers of workload. This report provides an adaptable modeling approach that can isolate and quantify the effects of changing technical design and operational policies in terms of nurse workload and quality of care. A demonstrator model is presented that tested two known drivers of workload: nurse-patient ratio and patient acuity. The results revealed that when nurse-patient ratios and patient acuity levels increased, nurse workload increased and quality of care deteriorated. This adaptable modeling approach can assist policymakers in quantifying the consequences of technical design and policy tradeoffs; architects in better designing inpatient unit-layouts; and hospital managers in creating safer work environments for nurses by quantifying their workload demands proactively. This modeling tool also offers a cost effective and safer alternative to trial-and-error methodologies.