Application of the Workload Indicator of Staffing Need in Facilities That Provide HIV/AIDS Services in Hai Phong, 2014
Application of the Workload Indicator of Staffing Need in Facilities That Provide HIV/AIDS Services in Hai Phong, 2014
Abstract
In order to provide the evidence to develop staffing norms for health facilities, the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) tool of the World Health Organization (WHO) was adopted for assessing workload pressures to inform and improve human resource planning in facilities that provide HIV/AIDS services. This is a mixed methodology approach combining qualitative (separate group discussions for each OPC position) and secondary data extraction (number of patients/clinic from routine reports) in 23 outpatient clinics (OPCs) of Hai Phong City, Vietnam, from January-March 2014. The results showed that: On average, an OPC serving 1,000 patients needs 2.5 doctors, 2 pharmacists, 1 treatment counselor, 1 laboratory technician and 2.2 receptionists. The existing number of health workers in most of the OPCs is higher than the determined need for all staff roles except pharmacists (in one hospital with a large number of patients). The WISN toolkit helped identify that, with one exception, there is no shortage of manpower in the OPC system in Hai Phong. Human resources planning should be evidence-based. The pilot implementation of this toolkit for other HIV/AIDS service providers (methadone and health facilities that provide integrated services) as well as other health care facilities could help calculate staff requirements, inform manpower planning, and help staff at health facilities develop job descriptions and plan their work accordingly.
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