Multi-employment in health in the province of Buenos Aires: cross-sectional study of professions involved in COVID-19 patient care

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the impact of multi-employment in health services. The objective of this study was to characterize multi-employment among physicians and nurses working in general hospitalization and critical care during the pandemic in the province of Buenos Aires. METHODS: An exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected in the first quarter of 2021 with a structured anonymous self-administered survey using non-probabilistic chain sampling. RESULTS: A total of 96.3% of physicians and 68.1% of nurses reported being multi-employed. The mean number of jobs was 3.1 for physicians (between 1 and 5) and 1.9 for nurses (between 1 and 3). Nurses reported having jobs with longer hours, mostly public and stable employment. Multi-employed physicians reported greater variety in the form of hiring. In both professions, multi-employment is mainly motivated by economic reasons. DISCUSSION: Multi-employment is difficult to measure through official records. The proportion of self-reported multiemployment in this study exceeds the figures shown by official statistics and reports. The differences found between physicians and nurses regarding the number of jobs are still consistent with previous studies. The problem of multi-employment needs to be tackled by making employment less precarious, with improvements in economic and working conditions.