Workload of Health Care and Administrative Personnel in a Level II Institution in Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: workload is an element of interest to be evaluated in the health area, because it can influence the quality of health care. Objective: to determine the workload of health care and administrative personnel in a second level health care institution in Colombia, 2019. Method: cross-sectional observational study. A total of 108 workers were studied, of which 76 were assistential and 32 administrative; an instrument was designed and validated by means of a round of experts in health research. Workload was assessed by means of a validated instrument adapted to Spanish called NASA-TLX. Results: 58.7% of the assistants were female and 68.8% were male; the predominant age range was 28 to 34 years with 49.6%. 42% of the assistants were female. Forty-two percent of the health care personnel had technical studies, while 43.8% of the administrative personnel had a university degree. In terms of working hours, 52% of the assistants worked 48 hours a day and 83.3% of the administrative staff worked 83.3% of the time. Type of contract: 72 % of temporary assistance and 59.4 % of administrative staff. Evaluation of workload: in the dimension of mental demands, both groups presented averages higher than 10 points. A statistically significant difference was found in the median physical demand for the two study groups (p= 0.00). Conclusion: workers in the health care and administrative areas present workload in the dimensions of mental and physical demands, hence the need to improve human resources planning within health care organizations.