Workforce management design and reorganization strategies as response to staff shortages in nursing homes services

The global aging population and the rise in chronic disabilities are fueling demand for long-term care (LTC), with Nursing homes (NHs) playing a crucial role in meeting the elderly’s care needs. Staff shortages, however, threaten the effectiveness of LTC services. To enhance LTC sustainability and care quality, effective workforce planning and new staff management strategies are necessary. Despite the nursing staff shortage, there is still limited academic research on key managerial strategies to maximize LTC cost-effectiveness. Consequently, this chapter addresses the chal- lenge of examining solutions to overcome the staffing crisis by providing effective workforce management and reorganization strategies. A PRISMA-based systematic literature review on the nursing homes management field was conducted, extracting contributions focused on LTC service delivery and its interconnection with staff shortage. The sample was investigated through conceptual analysis, which returned four macro areas of solution to overpass staff paucity. Consistent with the value-based healthcare paradigm and using a grounded approach, these findings were then integrated into a proposal for a comprehensive model addressing staff shortages, which consist of: (i) LTC demand estimation and staff allocation, (ii) new supply strate- gies, (iii) staff and process reorganization. Accordingly, the model implementation, as tailored to a healthcare district’s specific needs, could yield significant outcomes, including cost reduction, job satisfaction and retention, and enhanced quality in LTC services.