Project 461014

Prior to the pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) were getting injured and burned out due to unmanageable workloads. The pandemic has intensified the need for quantifiable, effective workload management to inform quality, safe healthcare delivery. The purpose of this planning grant proposal is for 2 Canadian established research teams to combine their expertise and methods in a new research initiative aimed at creating valid, reliable workload measurement tools for the healthcare sector. Validated tools will better inform care delivery decision-making at direct care, managerial and policy-making levels, supporting better use of limited health human resources and healthcare budgets. This proposal lays the groundwork for a novel Canadian-made approach to measuring and managing workload by consulting with a) other researchers in the field, b) healthcare workers, c) managers and senior healthcare officers, and d) health economists. These consultations will determine how workload decisions are currently made from multiple stakeholder perspectives (e.g., researchers, users, economists, and strategists). In Canada, there has been no coordinated approach to study, design and evaluate workload management. For example, our nursing and engineering teams receive funding from three separate Canadian research agencies because occupational health and safety is not a major focus for any of the tri council funding agencies. This proposal will address the critical need for coordination of workload management research, application, and evaluation to ensure best possible solutions for our valued HCWs. In Canada, we must evolve from rationing care with hit and miss solutions to more effective workload management planning for now and in the future. This planning grant will launch an interdisciplinary approach to span current gaps in collaborative country-wide research, launching a new Canadian research cluster for healthcare workload management enhancing quality, safe care for Canadians.