Nurses' preferences for working in Uber-style 'Internet plus' nursing services: A discrete choice experiment

Area of Science:

• Nursing Services
• Health Services Management
• Digital Health

Background:

• China's 'Internet Plus' nursing services, a model of Uber-style home care, have grown significantly.
• Registered nurses' preferences are key to managing human resources and improving service efficiency in this sector.
• Limited research exists on nurses' specific preferences for these services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate registered nurses' preferences regarding Uber-style Internet Plus nursing services.
• To offer recommendations for optimizing these services from a supply-side perspective.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study using a discrete choice experiment was conducted.
• 211 registered nurses from two public tertiary hospitals in Tianjin, China, participated.
• Mixed logit models analyzed preferences for income, safety, patient cooperation, commute time, and service type.

Main Results:

• Safety and security (30.89%) and income (27.41%) were the most preferred attributes for nurses.
• Patient and family cooperation (18.47%), service type (11.96%), and commuting time (11.27%) were also significant.
• Senior and unmarried nurses showed distinct preferences, highlighting heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• Registered nurses prioritize safety, security, and income in Internet Plus nursing services.
• Heterogeneous preferences among nurses must be considered in service design and algorithms.
• Optimizing these services requires acknowledging and addressing nurses' varied priorities for enhanced efficiency and humanistic care.