Experiences of Nurses and Midwives With Indecorously Structured Duty Rosters at Selected Health Facilities in Ho, Volta Region of Ghana: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Introduction: Decent working time in the health sector is critical to providing quality care, and balancing health workers' well-being with the requirements of 24/7 healthcare provision. Nursing and midwifery staff, comprising the largest group in the health workforce, play a crucial role. Understanding their experiences and challenges related to duty rosters is essential for improving work conditions, job satisfaction, and ultimately, the quality of care.

Objective: This study aims to explore the experiences of nurses and midwives with the hospital duty roster at selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana.

Method: A qualitative research method with a phenomenological approach was employed to capture the nuanced experiences of nurses and midwives regarding the hospital duty roster. A semistructured interview guide facilitated data collection, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of participants' experiences. Three selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana, served as the study's location. The study recruited 20 participants (nurses and midwives) to reach data saturation. The collected data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed through thematic content analysis, using a deductive approach. Researchers reviewed the raw data, generating initial codes to capture new concepts of interest.

Results: The duty roster often demonstrated organizational flaws negatively impacting the health, well-being, and job performance of nurses and midwives, consequently affecting patient care quality. The study identified that these healthcare professionals faced significant risks of work-related stress, burnout, and mental health problems due to ineffective coping strategies toward the hospital duty roster. Findings from the study also demonstrated that nurses and midwives prefer day shift because of its short time and the availability of all groups of professionals to help manage cases as compared to a night shift.

Conclusions: The findings underscore factors influencing nurses' choice of shift patterns, emphasizing the need for further research to explore the extent to which nurses' preferences are considered when designing hospital duty rosters. Such insights can contribute to improving both the working conditions of healthcare professionals and the overall quality of patient care.

Keywords: coping strategies; hospital; midwives; nurses; roster; work-related stress.