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[Assessment of nurses' workload in a hospital in Benin]
H A Lawin1, A P Ayelo1, A V Hinson1
1Unité d'Enseignement et de Recherche en Santé au Travail, Faculté des Sciences de la santé, Université d'Abomey Calavi, 01 BP 188 Cotonou, Bénin Tél. : (229) 21 30 52 22 Fax : (229) 21 30 52 23 / (229) 21 30 40 96.
Abstract:
The importance of nursing work is well established in the treatment of patients. But the weakness of the nurse-patient ratio and lack of proper equipment create a workload for these nurses and can impact on the quality of care. The objective of this study was to assess the nursing workload during night shifts in a hospital in Benin. A prospective observational study of the work of nurses in the general medical service of this hospital was conducted. A comprehensive and systematic analysis of this work was done and resulted in the identification of the tasks performed, the analysis of postures and the evaluation of the average distance walked by nurses. Performing care tasks occupy more than one third of the working time and approximately 3 minutes were spent per tasks. The postures in static muscular work and standing / walking posture represent more than half of the working time. The brightness measured is about 110 Lux and nurses walked more than 2.5 km during their night shift. In conclusion, the nursing work combines several tasks that create a considerable workload. The improvement of the work conditions will decrease the workload and will contribute to better care for patients.