The healthcare sector of India is rapidly changing and expanding, to keep pace with the increased expectations from the receivers of healthcare. There are a wide range of services available and an array of technologies used for service delivery. Patients today are also more alert and better informed regarding the choices available to them. As service delivery expands and methods evolve, there is an increasing demand for the nursing staff to provide high-quality services.
We at Interio by Godrej, study the people and their work environments and problems faced by them while carrying out the work. In that vein, we studied the routine of nurses during their workday, their work environment, the physical demands of their work, and the problems faced by them while carrying out various caregiving tasks. The objective of the study was to improve the health and productivity of the nursing staff.
The study revealed that nurses face tremendous work-related stress and burnout due to workload, long working hours, and overtime did. The job also has significant physical demands like standing for long hours, performing tasks in awkward and sustained postures, and handling patients while transferring them. This poses a lot of risk of musculoskeletal disorders. In fact, an alarming 90% of nurses studied, suffered some form of musculoskeletal disorder due to the nature of their work.
Educating the nursing staff about adopting ergonomic postures, taking appropriate breaks during their work schedule, adopting safe patient handling techniques, and designing workspaces for nurses that are conducive to their job demands are measures that must be adopted by the nursing staff and healthcare organizations to make the nursing force of India happier and healthier.
India’s Healthcare sector is experiencing explosive growth in revenue, the number of service providers, and state-of-the-art equipment and medical supplies in use. Modernization and commercialization of the medical profession have driven the sharp expansion of hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics. Patients have also started taking well-informed decisions after considering the plethora of options available to them. Medical facilities are being forced to compete with each other to provide the best services.
The healthcare ecosystem in India consists of primary, secondary, and tertiary health care, provided by both public, as well as private health care providers. The initial medical consultation takes place at the primary care level, where the general practitioner offers medical services in a clinic/chamber, a health center, or an urgent care center.
Secondary care is defined as services provided by medical specialists or health professionals, at a hospital, or an acute care center. Secondary care includes general hospital care, childbirth attendance, medical imaging services, and the care provided in Intensive Care Units (ICU).
Tertiary care is meant for patients, who require a higher level of care in specialized hospitals. The professionals at the tertiary care level are highly specialized, and they often use advanced medical equipment to treat the patients. Cardiac surgery, treatment and management of cancer, burn injuries, cosmetic surgery, neurosurgery, and other complicated procedures fall in this category.
The Private Healthcare Sector, also known as the independent healthcare sector, consists of medical clinics and hospitals, that are run independently by a person, company, a group of companies, charities, or not-for-profit organizations (NGOs).
On the other hand, the Public Healthcare Sector includes hospitals that are mainly governed by government bodies. Community health centers (CHCs), Primary health centers (PHCs), and sub-centers (SCs) are examples of public hospitals. While the sub-district hospitals fall at the Secondary care level, district hospitals and medical colleges are included in the Tertiary wing of the healthcare system in India.
With the objective of understanding more about the challenges that NPs face, we, at Interio by Godrej, tried to understand the current work environment and work pattern of the nurses in India. A mix of observational and subjective studies was carried out across different hospital categories including government, private, trust, small polyclinics, and big hospitals across the nation. We interviewed the nursing staff across departments and observed them formally and informally during their working hours to know about their actual on-field job tasks and their responsibilities.
Some alarming facts emerged that need to be addressed immediately, as they are responsible for causing a lot of stress and pain among the nursing force of India.
The significant insights about the study have been shared in subsequent sections but the top problems identified by the study were that 90% of nurses have complained of musculoskeletal pain or discomfort in relation to their work environment and work culture.
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Factors such as faulty work behavior/postures
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Lack of manpower
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Infrastructural inefficiency
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Poorly designed workspaces in the hospitals are seen to be causing these strains and stresses.
Nurses form the single largest group of health professionals. In all care delivery settings, they have a critical role to improve care, advance health, and provide value.
In response to a changed system and new responsibilities, the challenges faced by nurses need to be addressed on priority. An efficient nursing workforce will make healthcare delivery smoother, and the patients will feel safer and more secure.
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By Ergonomics and Research Cell - Interio by Godrej