Evaluating workload and manpower planning among pediatric emergency department nurses in Turkey during COVID-19: A cross-sectional, multicenter study

Purpose: Quality nursing care in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) can be achieved only through sustained workload-based manpower planning. The purpose of this paper to evaluate perceptions of workload and manpower planning in the PED setting in Turkey from the nurses' point of view. Design and methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study that was conducted among 187 nurses working in a PED setting in Turkey between June and September 2021. Data were collected using a questionnaire that measured nurses' perceptions of workload and manpower planning. The reporting of this study adhered to STROBE guidelines. Results: Themajority of the respondents perceived the number of patients-per-nurse during a shift to be too high, the number of nurses tobe insufficient in proportion to the workload, and the nursing manpower-planning to be insufficient and biased. Thosewith <= 1 year of nursing experience in the PED perceived an increasedworkload and more burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Conclusions: Nursesworking in PED setting perceived theworkload and manpower planning to be inadequate. In addition, nurses who were less experienced or felt burnout perceived their workload to be increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practice implications: Further exploration of workload and manpower planning in PEDs is required. Quantifying nurses' perspectives of workload and manpower when managing emergency pediatric patients is essential for designing appropriate interventions to improve the working environment. Future studies should focus on comparing nurses' perceptions with actual workloads and manpower planning in PEDs using appropriate measurement tools. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.