The Economic Importance Of Nursing Care Practice And Its Future Role In The Health Care Delivery In Nigeria

The Economic Importance of Nursing Care Practice and its Future Role in the Health Care Delivery in Nigeria

*Peters Ge¹, Phd, Moffat Be², Bnsc, Peters, Edidiong E,³ MB, BCh

¹Department Of Nursing Science, University of Uyo, Uyo.

²Department Of Nusing Services, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo.

³Department Of Family Medicine, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo

*Corresponding Author

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.9010021

Received: 17 December 2024; Revised: 27 December 2024; Accepted: 28 December 2024; Published: 28 January 2025

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to review the economic importance of nursing care practice and its future role in health care delivery system in Nigeria. Nurses constitute a very critical segment of healthcare workforce in Nigeria and over the past decades, the economic importance of this critical segment has not been thoroughly evaluated. Nursing practice contributes a substantial portion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in health care delivery in Nigeria. It therefore becomes quite imperative that the economic contribution of nursing practice should be highlighted with a view of strengthening the perceived weakness and shortcomings of nursing practice in Nigeria. Moreover, the evaluation of nurses’ knowledge of health economics as a fundamental strategy that will enhance their level of productivity is advocated. This review article therefore essentially gives a general overview of the economic importance of nursing practice and further highlights their future role in the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria. This will enhance and emphasize the importance of nursing practice as a profession in Nigeria in particular, and the world in general.

Keywords: Economics, Nursing Practice, Future Role, Healthcare, Nigera

INTRODUCTION

Health is a fundamental platform on which people build their lives and become active members of the society and this is possible through Nursing care¹. Nursing is seen as the golden tree that runs through health care. It is not just a profession, it is a calling that requires decision, empathy and deep commitment to human beings.

Nursing plays a vital role in the building of health literacy and trust in a population by empowering people with tools to manage their own health, prevent illnesses and stop the deterioration of the existing health condition. They work tirelessly to access, diagnosis and treat patients providing holistic care that extends beyond medical treatment to encompass emotion, social and psychological support.

The word economy often is thought of in a monetary sense. However, the term economy is defined as a “careful management of the available resources.”² Nurses can be seen as the available resources that need careful management³. The economics of care is how much the nursing profession contributes to the overall healthcare in Nigeria. However, this level of sacrifice and contribution is not well recognized in the nursing profession and the wider society at large.

Healthcare is a significant contributor to national economics accounting for a substantial portion of the GDP in many countries.⁴ In the United-states alone for example, health care expenditure exceeds 17% of the GDP, with Nursing care beings a critical component of this spending⁵

Valuing Nurses is not just on the ethical requirements, but also as an economic necessity according to the recent report by the world health organization⁶. Nurses make up nearly about 60% of the global Health workforce and moreover, the demand for Nursing care is rising exponentially throughout the world, driven by an increase in the aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the growing need for mental health services ⁷. This trend is not limited to developed economies only, but affects the low and middle-income countries which also face significant health care challenges with nursing care playing a vital role in addressing these disparities. According to W.H.O, shortage of healthcare workers has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. ⁸

There were 27.9 million nurses globally in 2020 making up nearly 60 percent of the healthcare profession.⁹ However, there are an estimated shortage of up to 13 million nurses around the world ¹⁰.

The World Health Organization in 2024 predicted that by 2030, there will be more that 5 million Nurses in short supply in so many countries in the world.¹¹ It becomes quite imperative therefore that various countries should start early in the planning of how to mitigate the impending shortages of the nurses worldwide and devise various strategies that will not only encourage new intake of nurses but also devise the means on how to retain the existing nurses in respective workforces. Similarly, the economics benefits of investing in nursing care should be encouraged in all strata of governments.

THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN NURSING CARE

Reduction of Healthcare Cost

A well-staffed and skilled nursing workforce reduce healthcare cost by:

1. Preventing hospital-acquired complication.
2. Lowering the resources utilization.
3. Reducing the burden on the healthcare system and payers.
4. Decreasing the re-admission rate.
5. Shortening the duration of hospital stays.
6. Improving patients’ treatment outcome.

In places where the healthcare system is a well- staffed with skilled nursing workforce, there would be able to deliver effective quality healthcare. Similarly, the healthcare staff must have good service orientation, empathy and compassion, strong communication skills, strong problem-solving skills and the ability to multitask and must be quite knowledgeable.

Significant Returns On Investment

Up-skilling nurses on the medical technology and new treatment options can enhance their clinical knowledge and provide open opportunities for the nurses to work across the medical discipline, leading to the top-quality care for patients and career advancement opportunity in various units. In this scenario, more nurses are most likely to remain in the profession. Nursing education and training offer opportunities in a way to keep nursing staff motivated and satisfied. This is a way of combating nursing shortage by encouraging the retention of trained nurses¹².

Reducing Turn-Over Rate And Recruitment Cost

Investing in nursing education and training help to reduce high turn- over rate of nurses, as job vacancies remain filled and the nurses will not be stressed out or dissatisfied. The cost of recruitment because of the unfilled job vacancies will be reduced. High employee turn- over is costly, with the spending of money on the recruiting, Hiring and training replacement. The time and productivity lost during this training sessions can affect the facility ultimately¹³.

Nurses are economic multipliers, contributing to local economics through their purchasing power, effective use of the resources, cost effective management, producing high impact on the health outcomes essential for activities such as universal coverage, supporting small businesses and stimulating job creation.

CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF HEALTH CARE INNOVATION

Nursing care is a critical component of health care innovation, driving the development of the new technologies and integrating these new technologies into the treatment care models that improve the patient’s outcome through an advanced practice such as nurses’ community- based care and inter-disciplinary collaboration.

A Good Social Investment

Investing in nursing care is a good social investment^13,14, addressing Health equities, promoting literacy and supporting vulnerable population. Nurses advocate to health promotion, educate patients and the public on the prevention of illnesses and injury. They also provide care and assist in cure, participate in the rehabilitation and provide support in treatment. The broad and far- reaching roles perform by nurses alone are far-fetched and encompassing as it affects all facets of healthcare delivery.¹⁵

Health Economics And Nursing Care

This provides an introduction to health economics and its inference on nursing care practice/ healthcare. It provides nurses with tools to help them think about ethical and practical ways in which scarce resources are managed, allocated and used to maximize outcome. This competence is an essential element of nursing care practice because of the obvious scarcity of resources in most of our health facilities in Nigeria.

Health economics provides the fundamentals in nursing care practice of how services are organized and delivered to achieve efficiency and with high value. Therefore, health economics provides orientation which are very useful to nursing care practice as it focuses on different approaches to unique aspect of health care provision.

The understanding of health economics helps nurses navigate the difficult pathway of different economic policies that shapes the organization and delivery of healthcare. Nurses need a confident command of economic ideas to be able to apply them in the practice setting.

The importance of health economics model is that it provides useful insights into how healthcare can be organized and financed and also provides a framework to address a broad range of issues in an explicit and consistent manner^15,16. This has led to the increasing interest in the subject area and its influence on the healthcare organizations and decision making. Although these elements offer useful insights into the delivery of healthcare services, it is economic evaluation that provides the bulk of health economic work and is also relevant to nursing care managers. This exercises a framework for measuring value and comparing cost of different health interventions.

THE FUTURE ROLE OF NURSING PRACTICE IN THE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

When looking to the future, it is clear that the role of nursing practice in the health care delivery in Nigeria will become an even more critical in the health care system and hospital services management. This is attributable to the following factors such as the aging population, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases/non-communicable diseases and growing need for mental health services, which will tremendously increase the demand for skilled and competent nurses, which will only continue to grow. To meet this demand, there is a need to prioritize nursing education and training, ensuring that our nurses have the skill and knowledge they need to provide high quality care^17,18. There is also a need to address the systemic challenges facing the nursing workforce including poor remuneration, burnt out syndrome and inadequate funding. Moreover, the power of the technology and the innovation must be harnessed to enhance nursing care, improving patient outcome and efficiency. This includes the investing in digital health solution, artificial intelligence and data analysis to support nurses in their work.

Social determinants of health such as poverty, housing and nutrition must also be addressed to ensure that everyone has access to quality care and good healthy living standards. We must prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in our healthcare systems ensuring that our nurses reflect the community they serve.

In order to deal more effectively with inevitable cost constraints, nurse leaders will need a basic understanding of the fundamental economic concepts that are driving most of the initiative for a more financially sustainable healthcare system. Ironically, these nurse leaders are not often in key leadership decisions positions when it comes to the formation of major health policies in the country. It becomes quite imperative that as demand for improved quality of care rises, nurses should be appointed into key leadership position of policies making in the country and with their understanding of the key economic concepts in health economics, it will help improve the much-needed delivery in healthcare reforms.

The more the nurse are appointed into leadership positions, the better prepared they will be to make wise resource allocations decisions and provide leadership direction in nursing care practice.

In summary therefore, our nurses who are our future ball bearers and are the guardians of our healthcare system, the changing face of the patients care and drivers of the economic growth, deserves our collective responsibility to support and empower them by investing in our nursing workforce, recognizing the invaluable contributions they make to our society and communities. Nursing education, training and retention must be prioritized; addressing system challenges and valuing the critical role nurses play in shaping our future. Investing in nurses’ team today will benefit our facilities, patients and nurses for years to come.

Together we can build a future where nurses are celebrated as the heroes of which they are.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the economic importance of nursing care practice in Nigeria is profound and multifaceted, serving as a cornerstone for effective and efficient health care delivery. As the country grapples with increasing health care demands and resource constraints, the role of nursing education, practice and policies not only addresses the immediate health needs of population but also contributes to long-term economic stability and growth. Looking forward therefore, the strengthening of the nursing workforce, improving working conditions, and fostering innovative care models will be essential in ensuring that Nigeria can meet future health care challenges. By prioritizing these areas, Nigeria can optimize its healthcare system, improve outcomes, and enhance the overall economic well-being of its citizens. The major challenges for today’s nursing are to ensure that the immediate healthcare services are provided in ways which promote optimum economic growth as well as clinical values. it involves demonstrating the essential leadership quality of objective integrity, which unfortunately is often hard to come by in healthcare organizations.

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