High Workload Effects on Patient Satisfaction and Profitability of Nursing Homes

The main issue focused on in the research is that increased workload experienced by employees in nursing homes in Houston, TX creates an increase in medical errors and results in the loss of customer satisfaction and profitability to the business. To address the problem, convergent parallel mixed methods were used to understand the effect of high workload on patient satisfaction and the profitability of nursing homes in Houston, Texas. The mixed methods study was guided by four research questions: (1) How does increased workload experienced by employees in nursing homes impact the quality of provided healthcare services? (2) How does the increase in medical errors (complaints) in nursing homes, as an indicator of the quality of provided healthcare services, impact the level of customer satisfaction and reflect profitability to the business? (3) What are the relational and professional practices that can help to overcome the obstacles of increased workload experienced by employees in nursing homes? (4) What is the relationship between the staff-patient ratio and the number of patient complaints, and between the staff-patient ratio and the bed occupancy rate in nursing homes in Houston, Texas? The qualitative data were gathered using information acquired from the face-to-face interviews. The qualitative data were organized in an Excel sheet and the codes and themes were developed accordingly. The coding process highlighted symmetric words. Codes and sub-codes were identified, conveying the work experience or information relevant to the in-person interview questions. The quantitative data collection consisted of pulling out data from a primary source of information (Medicare.gov). The data were registered into an Excel sheet. The information was then exported from Microsoft® Excel into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for final analysis. The convergent parallel design is appropriate for the study as both qualitative and quantitative data are needed to have a comprehensive understanding of the effects of work overload. The significance of the study was to understand the phenomena of high workload and its effects on the residents and the nursing home facilities in Houston, Texas. The intention was to provide more in-depth information regarding how much high workload will reflect on the quality of medical services and finances of the nursing homes. The results of my study will assist nursing homes’ decision-makers when reviewing their staffing policy, open the door to expanding the vision of the staffing process, and shed light on the long-term effects of high workload.