Estimating of the required midwife in the maternity ward in the hospital using Workload Indicator of Staffing Need Method

Human resources are considered as a major component of the health sector.  this study estimates the number of midwives required in maternity wards in hospitals by using the WISN method.

This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in three hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran using the WISN method in 2019. The workload and the standard working time were determined through holding expert meetings; the timing methods were used to test and verify the standard working time; available working time was determined through holding meetings with personnel affairs experts, studying the relevant laws and regulations and personnel system information; and the actual workload was determined based on information management system and information registries. Microsoft Excel was used to analyze WISN data and Stata (version 19) was used to analyze statistical data.

10 factors related to midwifes’ available working time were identified. Annual available working time for midwives in the studied hospitals was 1378 hours per year. In this study, labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum, recovery after cesarean care, and new born cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were identified as the main activities of midwives. The results have shown that the Centre hospital and the educational hospital faced with 2 and 13 midwifes shortage, respectively, while the non-educational hospital had 2 surplus midwives.

The results showed that although both center and educational hospitals are faced with a shortage of midwifery staff, in comparison of working pressure, midwives in the educational hospital are under more pressure than the midwifes in the center hospital; so staffing in the educational hospital is a top priority. so workforce recruitment has a significant role in these hospitals.