Scope, Nature and Characteristics of Non-clinical Support Occupations: A Qualitative Study to Strengthen Workforce Planning in Public Hospitals

Support staff comprise approximately one-third of the health workforce, and their performance significantly influences the delivery of hospital services. However, inconsistent and unclear definitions of these jobs’ scope, position and characteristics hinder effective workforce planning. This study uses a qualitative approach, combining focus group discussions, individual interviews and process observation to collect evidence about the characteristics of non-clinical support (NCS) jobs in Iran’s public hospitals to promote health workforce planning. Summarising and analysing the data revealed four main categories: common job aspects, challenges in job definition and classification, roles and differences between job units. The main roles of NCS staff include supplying and maintaining resources, ensuring their quality, facilitating operations and managing resource development. Also, NCS units have very different workload requirements, levels of job complexity and work styles. These findings distinctly outline essential roles and personnel in NCS as critical to health service delivery, while also emphasising addressing the challenges of defining the structural position of these jobs and the necessity of revising job classifications by health policymakers and planners.