Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors
Home health care routing and scheduling is a complex problem that requires many aspects to be considered simultaneously. One of the important aspects is ergonomics. Home health care nurses are at higher risk of work-related health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and burnout since they are...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023111042 |
| _version_ | 1797336909785071616 |
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| author | Zehra Durak Ozcan Mutlu |
| author_facet | Zehra Durak Ozcan Mutlu |
| author_sort | Zehra Durak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Home health care routing and scheduling is a complex problem that requires many aspects to be considered simultaneously. One of the important aspects is ergonomics. Home health care nurses are at higher risk of work-related health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and burnout since they are frequently exposed to physical, mental, and environmental ergonomic risks in their jobs. Therefore, it is essential to integrate ergonomic considerations into the construction of daily schedules for home health care nurses to mitigate these health risks. The purpose of this study is to present a mathematical model that incorporate ergonomic risks. We introduce a set of constraints into our model to prevent nurses from encountering excessive workloads. To assess the workload, we propose a subjective assessment method and employ a fuzzy inference system to calculate nurses' perceived workload levels. We applied our model to a several numerical examples to investigate the impact of workload on the nurse daily schedules. We observed that, at a specified workload level, there may be alternative solutions where the number of patients visited is the same. Therefore, we defined an objective function to maximize patient visits while minimizing nurses' workload levels as much as possible. As a result, our model generates solutions that effectively reduce nurse workloads, leading to more balanced schedules. Thus, our study offers a comprehensive approach to home health care scheduling by incorporating ergonomic considerations, ultimately enhancing both patient care and nurse well-being. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:01:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9a9a756872440ea9fa89d787de3f3f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:01:45Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9a9a756872440ea9fa89d787de3f3f62024-02-01T06:34:02ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-01-01101e23896Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factorsZehra Durak0Ozcan Mutlu1Corresponding author.; Department of Industrial Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Pamukkale University, Denizli, TurkeyDepartment of Industrial Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Pamukkale University, Denizli, TurkeyHome health care routing and scheduling is a complex problem that requires many aspects to be considered simultaneously. One of the important aspects is ergonomics. Home health care nurses are at higher risk of work-related health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders and burnout since they are frequently exposed to physical, mental, and environmental ergonomic risks in their jobs. Therefore, it is essential to integrate ergonomic considerations into the construction of daily schedules for home health care nurses to mitigate these health risks. The purpose of this study is to present a mathematical model that incorporate ergonomic risks. We introduce a set of constraints into our model to prevent nurses from encountering excessive workloads. To assess the workload, we propose a subjective assessment method and employ a fuzzy inference system to calculate nurses' perceived workload levels. We applied our model to a several numerical examples to investigate the impact of workload on the nurse daily schedules. We observed that, at a specified workload level, there may be alternative solutions where the number of patients visited is the same. Therefore, we defined an objective function to maximize patient visits while minimizing nurses' workload levels as much as possible. As a result, our model generates solutions that effectively reduce nurse workloads, leading to more balanced schedules. Thus, our study offers a comprehensive approach to home health care scheduling by incorporating ergonomic considerations, ultimately enhancing both patient care and nurse well-being.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023111042Home health careErgonomic risksNurse routing and schedulingFuzzy inference system |
| spellingShingle | Zehra Durak Ozcan Mutlu Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors Heliyon Home health care Ergonomic risks Nurse routing and scheduling Fuzzy inference system |
| title | Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| title_full | Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| title_fullStr | Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| title_short | Home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| title_sort | home health care nurse routing and scheduling problem considering ergonomic risk factors |
| topic | Home health care Ergonomic risks Nurse routing and scheduling Fuzzy inference system |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023111042 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zehradurak homehealthcarenurseroutingandschedulingproblemconsideringergonomicriskfactors AT ozcanmutlu homehealthcarenurseroutingandschedulingproblemconsideringergonomicriskfactors |