Decentralized worker-centred occupational management in health care: nationwide survey and alpha testing

Occupational stress among healthcare workers negatively impacts job satisfaction and patient care quality, jeopardizing healthcare system sustainability. Traditional employer-driven approaches often fail to address these challenges comprehensively, leading to persistent gaps in work condition transparency and well-being.

To elucidate the working conditions of health workers and introduce a worker-centred, technology-based strategy moving beyond traditional practices and entrenched medical culture.

A nationwide survey of Belgian medical residents evaluated occupational conditions and perceptions of management practices. Additionally, the alpha version of a decentralized mobile application was tested to gather user satisfaction and feedback on its usability. The data were surveyed using Pearson's chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests to assess associations between categorical and ordinal variables, respectively. Alpha-testing results were evaluated using descriptive statistics.

The nationwide survey, involving 257 participants, revealed significant associations between medical specialty, work choices and compensation. Notably, 91% of participants expressed strong interest in our proposed open, decentralized solution. In the alpha testing phase, 12 testers reported high satisfaction regarding time-tracking accuracy and payroll verification, though challenges related to administrative burden were also identified.

The findings underscore the need for innovative, worker-centred occupational management solutions. The proposed solution shows promise in improving autonomy and transparency, potentially enhancing healthcare delivery and sustainability.