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This paper demystifies the fluid workforce phenomenon increasingly discussed in the circles of organizational innovators and explores the characteristic aspects of the fluid workforce in the healthcare sector.

We analyze the concept and provide a generic review of definitions of a fluid workforce in relation to other similar concepts established in the academic and practitioner literature, contextualize the fluid workforce phenomenon in healthcare and distinguish relevant drivers and categories of fluid workers in this sector. We also discuss the implications of a fluid workforce for healthcare organizations, drawing on the health labor market and human resource management (HRM) practices frameworks.

The fluid workforce in healthcare is not new. Today’s main novelties are related to the wide diversity of types of fluid workforce that have emerged, the expanding scale of diffusion of the fluid workforce and the emergence of digital technologies to support HRM decisions. While a fluid workforce may provide solutions to address mismatches in the supply and demand of health workers, it can also worsen working conditions, increase dual practice and have implications for existing HRM practices.

We disentangle a novel term for the public sector, healthcare and HRM literature. We discern similarities and distinctions, presenting a framework for managing and analyzing this workforce at organizational and labor market levels in the healthcare sector. Acknowledging the challenges in estimating the existing fluid workforce labor market size, we offer practical methodologies to empirically estimate its prevalence within the healthcare industry and build an agenda for future research.

The purpose of the scoping review is to develop understandings around the high demand for in-home healthcare for the aged and how to find ways to better support declining numbers of in-home care workers and healthcare professionals. The scoping review highlights the role of human resource management (HRM) in this sector.

This scoping review of literature takes a systematic approach to identify themes on the aged care sector and levels of support for in-home care. We map the literature from specific databases to find themes.

It is important for HRM of aged care service providers to understand the key issues around homecare workers and healthcare professionals. There are key issues for stakeholders, such as clients’ health needs, organizations struggling to recruit and retain healthcare workers, and it is critical to know how such issues impact on clients and the healthcare workforce.

There is a dearth of literature on in-home care for the aged, and therefore, we contribute to understandings about the competing pressures surrounding the demand for in-home care versus the declining number of homecare workers and professional healthcare workers in this sector. We highlight the lack of HRM support from aged care providers and the impact on homecare workers.

The purpose of this study was to address a gap in the current literature by examining the integration of 3D digital prototyping technology in the co-creation process of new sustainable and multi-functional healthcare PPE clothing design in collaboration with real users.

Within the user-centered design framework, 35 participants from major hospitals, along with fashion college students in New York City, actively engaged in the co-creation innovation process for this research. Data collection and analysis were conducted through interview-based qualitative analysis, using the content analysis method.

The results highlight the effectiveness of integrating 3D digital prototyping technologies in the co-creation innovation process in achieving all research objectives, including fulfilling users’ health care PPE clothing needs.

This case study presents an example of co-creation innovation in collaboration with actual industry users, exploring the effectiveness of 3D digital prototyping for the co-creation process. The findings of this study can be used to formulate future research studies.

This study aims to investigate the mediating roles of servant leadership and employee vitality in the relationship between psychological ownership and employee creativity among healthcare workers in Ghana.

A sample of 736 public and private healthcare respondents was selected using a convenience sampling technique. Data collected using a self-reported questionnaire was analyzed via partial least square structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that psychological ownership directly improves employee creativity, while servant leadership and employee vitality mediate the relationship between psychological ownership and employee creativity separately and complementarily.

The research used self-reported data, increasing the potential for common method variance. However, sufficient care was taken to minimize these limitations.

This research makes valuable contributions to the field of healthcare practice literature. The findings suggest that management of health care entities should focus on creating a workplace culture that cultivates psychological ownership among employees and policies that enhance employee vitality and promote servant behavior to foster employee creativity.

This study represents one of the earliest attempts to examine a theoretical framework that connects servant leadership, employee vitality, employee creativity and psychological ownership within the context of the health service industry.

Addressing workforce shortages in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) necessitates adaptive measures by both individuals and organizations, with a pivotal role played by Human Resources (HR). This impact pathway delves into how healthcare organizations can effectively manage workforce shortages, informed by HR practices. Through an in-depth understanding of healthcare organizations, the authors pinpoint challenges and concerns linked to workforce shortages. Pathways are proposed to stimulate future OSCM research and collaboration, leveraging innovative and creative methods from the HR field.

Data was collected from various representatives from healthcare organizations to explore how healthcare organizations for people with intellectual disabilities address the challenges stemming from contemporary workforce shortages.

Three pathways were outlined to address workforce shortages in healthcare supply chains, utilizing intellectual disability care as a representative example. These pathways comprise optimizing the potential of the current workforce, illustrating innovative HR practices for enhancing their performance, and proposing strategies for retaining these valuable workers.

Despite its potential, the HR domain remains relatively underdeveloped within OSCM research. The authors show how HR practices can potentially mitigate impending workforce shortages. While utilizing intellectual disability care as a representative example, this paper proposes that the impact pathways identified can be extended to various other healthcare settings.

Common challenges for healthcare systems worldwide are population ageing, rising therapy spending and reduced economic resources. In response, AI can play a crucial role in facilitating managerial and economic objectives within a holistic vision of care and improve the experience of patients and professionals. AI may change the delivery of services and the demand for them as well. This raises questions of how to balance the supply and demand sides of healthcare services, how to leverage competitive positioning and how to differentiate strategies specific to the public and to the private sector.

The purpose of the study is to examine the psychological impact of COVID-19 on health workers' career satisfaction and intention to leave the health profession, with neurotic personality type as a moderator.

A total of 277 health workers in two public hospitals in Ghana were included in this study. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were adopted for the study, focusing on eight departments that were involved in the management of COVID-19 cases. Validated instruments were used to measure burnout, intention to leave, neurotic personality and career satisfaction. Using AMOS and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), various techniques were employed to analyze mediating and moderating mechanisms.

The departments had staff sizes ranging from 19 to 40, with 67% female and 33% male, with an average age of 31. Nurses accounted for the majority of responses (67.8%), followed by physicians (13.9%), sonographers (0.9%), lab technicians (0.9%) and other respondents (16.5%). The study found that health workers’ level of burnout during COVID-19 had a positive effect on their intention to leave the health profession. Career satisfaction does not mediate this relationship; however, career satisfaction negatively influences the intention to leave the health profession. A neurotic personality does not moderate this relationship.

This study provides validation of burnout and intention to leave among health workers in Ghana during COVID-19 and supports the proposition that threats to resources (burnout) and having a resource (career satisfaction) have effects on the intention to leave one’s profession.

Effective voice behavior in healthcare workers is critical for patient safety, quality improvement and workforce well-being. A review of the literature on voice behavior in healthcare highlights that little is known about the voice behaviors of new graduates in allied health and that current theory, from medical and nursing research, does not adequately apply to this sector. New knowledge about voice behavior for this sector of the workforce will support education and healthcare institutions in building and sustaining a healthy voice behavior culture.

This paper reports on phase two of a two-phase study looking at the voice behavior experiences of new allied health graduates over one year. Using a realist perspective and narrative analysis, we uncover and illustrate what works, with whom and under what conditions.

Four synthesized narratives outline the contexts and mechanisms that result in different voice behavior outcomes – speaking up effectively, speaking up with unmet expectations, not speaking up and a reduction in speaking up over time. Experiences of positive interprofessional collaboration and reflective supervision supported effective voice behavior.

This study used a case study approach, focusing on healthcare providers within a large New Zealand city and a cohort of 10 participants. Some researchers argue that small numbers limit the generalization of findings to different populations. Realists argue that, given the way in which knowledge is developed using realist methodologies, the resultant theory is portable. Interviews were conducted online during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have impacted the connection between the interviewer and interviewee, causing the interviewees to not express their true thoughts. However, the interviewer did take time to connect with the interviewees and build trust over the three interviews over one year. Participants did not capture the diversity in the allied health workforce – most identified as female and none identified as Māori/Indigenous. And finally, participants could inhibit or exaggerate information due to the influence of social desirability. This does not appear to be a significant limitation in this study, given the many examples shared by the participants highlighted their challenges.

This study provides an in-depth exploration of how new graduates in allied health experience speaking up. Our findings enrich the knowledge of speaking up by using synthesized narratives to provide insights into what factors can enable a healthy speaking up culture within the new graduate allied health workforce. This is new knowledge that will be of interest at the individual, team and organizational levels of healthcare. The findings will support curriculum design and new graduate support frameworks for the education and health sectors. Highlighted in this study are the importance of the following factors in supporting speaking up for allied health new graduates: the employment of reflective supervision, purposeful facilitation of team belonging and interprofessional collaboration and tailored speaking up training for allied health new graduates and leaders in healthcare.

By taking a realist perspective and using narrative analysis, we gain an understanding of the voice behavior experiences of new graduates in allied health and the contextual factors and mechanisms that activate effective voice behavior in sub-acute and rehabilitation settings. These findings differ from nursing and medicine and highlight the benefits of reflective supervision and interprofessional collaborative practice.

Provisions for the minimisation of human error are essential through governance structures such as recruitment, human resource allocation and education/training. As predictors of safety attitudes/behaviours, employees’ personality traits (e.g. conscientiousness, sensation-seeking, agreeableness, etc.) have been examined in relation to human error and safety education.

This review aimed to explore research activity on the safety attitudes of healthcare staff and their relationship with the different types of personalities, compared to other complex and highly regulated industries. A scoping review was conducted on five electronic databases on all industrial/work areas from 2001 to July 2023. A total of 60 studies were included in this review.

Studies were categorised as driving/traffic and industrial to draw useful comparisons between healthcare. Certain employees’ personality traits were matched to positive and negative relationships with safety attitudes/behaviours. Results are proposed to be used as a baseline when conducting further relevant research in healthcare.

Only two studies were identified in the healthcare sector.

The necessity for additional research in healthcare and for comparisons to other complex and highly regulated industries has been established. Safety will be enhanced through healthcare governance through personality-based recruitment, human resource allocation and education/training.

This study aims to investigate the adoption and use of electronic health record systems (EHRS) in Tanzanian public primary healthcare institutions. The study’s objectives include understanding the factors that affect EHRS adoption, identifying implementation challenges and evaluating the effect of EHRS usage on healthcare delivery. By addressing these research goals, the study aims to contribute insightful information on the current level of EHRS adoption in Tanzanian primary healthcare facilities and contribute to developing strategies to improve EHRS deployment and healthcare in the nation.

This study combined quantitative and qualitative data using a mixed-methods methodology. Both data types were collected and analysed concurrently using a concurrent triangulation approach. The study aimed to comprehend the variables that affect the adoption and use of EHRS in Tanzanian public primary healthcare institutions. Eleven regions spanning various geographic locations and urban–rural dynamics were chosen as research sites. A survey of 122 healthcare employees was conducted with a sample of 31 healthcare facilities. The questionnaire had closed-ended and open-ended questions to gather quantitative and qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used in data analysis. Throughout the investigation, ethical standards and confidentiality precautions were observed.

Several factors affect the adoption and use of EHRS. Perceived usefulness and use, support and training, interoperability, data security and privacy, business culture and leadership are all factors. Inadequate infrastructure, power interruptions, duplication of effort and a lack of data analytic expertise were among the difficulties. Among the effects were improvements in data management, service delivery and coordination, productivity and efficiency, medical supply inventory control, billing and revenue collection.

This study, which complements earlier research that has concentrated chiefly on specialised healthcare settings, gives new insights by investigating the adoption and utilisation of EHRS, especially in primary healthcare institutions. The findings give policymakers and healthcare professionals in Tanzania and other nations vital information to help them decide whether to embrace and use EHRS in primary healthcare.