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

Background: Decent working time in the health sector is critical to providing quality care. It balances health workers’ well-being with health service requirements, including providing healthcare 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Nursing and midwifery staff form the largest group in the health workforce, and comprehending their experience and challenges around duty roster is critical to effectively improving and enhancing nurses’ work conditions, and job satisfaction and increasing the quality of care. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of nurses and midwives using indecorously structured hospital duty rosters at selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana. Method: A descriptive qualitative design was used to explore the experiences of nurses and midwives with the hospital duty roster at selected health facilities in Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect the data and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis by a deductive approach. The researchers read through the raw data and created a list of initial codes to represent new concepts of interest. Results: It was found that the duty roster is often organized in ways that are detrimental to nurses’ and midwives’ health and wellbeing, their job performance, and subsequently, to the patient care they provide. Also, nurses and midwives are at considerable risk for work-related stress, burnout, and mental health problems as they do not employ effective coping strategies toward the hospital duty roster. Conclusion: Our findings highlight several factors that may be important in influencing nurses’ choice of shift patterns and the resulting outcomes for quality of care and the staff themselves. Further research should explore the extent to which nurses’ preferences are considered when designing the hospital duty roster.