Development of Patient Care Model Return to Work after Illness of Health Workers in Rajpracha Samasai Institute

Abstract

     The objective of this study was to: 1) assess the current conditions and issues related to the care of medical personnel at Rajpracha Samasai Institute before returning to work after illness; 2) draft, test, and refine a care model for this purpose within the context of the institute; and 3) evaluate the preliminary outcomes of the developed model. The study employed an action research model with four phases: Phase 1 involved a situational analysis of the healthcare management system for healthcare workers; Phase 2 focused on designing and developing the model; Phase 3 was the implementation phase; and Phase 4 evaluated the model. The target population included 16 occupational medicine physicians, occupational health nurses, and other multidisciplinary healthcare personnel who had been ill for three days or more. Data were collected from September 2023 to February 2024 at Rajpracha Samasai Institute, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, using group discussions, non-participant observations, and data record forms. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including percentages, means, and standard deviations, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

    The research findings revealed that: 1) the healthcare management model before returning to work after illness was structured around the R-MOPH framework; 2) the multidisciplinary and medical personnel who were sick reported high acceptance and satisfaction with the model; and 3) all personnel who received health assessments before returning to work were able to do so safely, with a 100% success rate. Based on these findings, it is recommended that this patient care model consider the limitations of holistic care and the specific contexts of different illness groups.