[ Impact de la surcharge du travail infirmier sur la qualité des soins: Cas de l’Hôpital Général de Référence de Malemba-Nkulu, d’avril 2024 à mars 2025 ]
Kabongo Nshimba Napoléon1, Ilunga Wa Nkulu Fulgence2, Ilunga Wa Kadimwa Arsene3, Ngongo Mbwese Majoie4, Yumba Mafinge John5, and Kaboba Ilunga Patrick6
1 Departement Informatique, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, Kabongo, Haut-Lomami, RD Congo
2 Departement des soins médicaux, Institut Supérieur Des Techniques Médicales De Malemba-Nkulu, Kabongo, Haut-Lomami, RD Congo
3 Departement de formation, Institut Supérieur Des Techniques Professionnelles and Appliquées, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
4 Departement Technique, Université Don Bosco, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
5 Indépendant, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
6 Departement Technique, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Nurses play a central role in health promotion, disease prevention, and comprehensive patient care. However, the effectiveness of nursing care is significantly compromised by persistent workload overload, inadequate organizational conditions, and chronic shortages of human and material resources. Data were collected through direct observation, interviews, document analysis, and manual statistical processing. The findings reveal that 87.7% of nurses reported experiencing excessive workload, while 93.7% expressed concerns about their working conditions. This overload resulted in the absence of formal nursing diagnoses, decreased quality of care (including breaches in aseptic practices), medication errors, inadequate monitoring of vital signs, insufficient psychological support for patients, and service disorganization. Excessive nurse-to-patient ratios significantly reduced the ability to anticipate clinical deterioration, thereby increasing morbidity, mortality, and length of hospital stay. The study confirms a direct relationship between nursing workload and deterioration in quality of care. It highlights the urgent need for structural interventions, including adequate staffing levels, improved working conditions, investment in resources, continuing professional development, fair compensation, and the promotion of a safety- and quality-centered organizational culture. Optimizing nurses’ work environments represents a strategic lever to ensure patient safety, restore public trust, and strengthen the long-term performance of the healthcare system.
Author Keywords: nursing workload, quality of care, nurse-to-patient ratio, working conditions, patient safety, Malemba-Nkulu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kabongo Nshimba Napoléon1, Ilunga Wa Nkulu Fulgence2, Ilunga Wa Kadimwa Arsene3, Ngongo Mbwese Majoie4, Yumba Mafinge John5, and Kaboba Ilunga Patrick6
1 Departement Informatique, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, Kabongo, Haut-Lomami, RD Congo
2 Departement des soins médicaux, Institut Supérieur Des Techniques Médicales De Malemba-Nkulu, Kabongo, Haut-Lomami, RD Congo
3 Departement de formation, Institut Supérieur Des Techniques Professionnelles and Appliquées, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
4 Departement Technique, Université Don Bosco, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
5 Indépendant, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
6 Departement Technique, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique, Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Nurses play a central role in health promotion, disease prevention, and comprehensive patient care. However, the effectiveness of nursing care is significantly compromised by persistent workload overload, inadequate organizational conditions, and chronic shortages of human and material resources. Data were collected through direct observation, interviews, document analysis, and manual statistical processing. The findings reveal that 87.7% of nurses reported experiencing excessive workload, while 93.7% expressed concerns about their working conditions. This overload resulted in the absence of formal nursing diagnoses, decreased quality of care (including breaches in aseptic practices), medication errors, inadequate monitoring of vital signs, insufficient psychological support for patients, and service disorganization. Excessive nurse-to-patient ratios significantly reduced the ability to anticipate clinical deterioration, thereby increasing morbidity, mortality, and length of hospital stay. The study confirms a direct relationship between nursing workload and deterioration in quality of care. It highlights the urgent need for structural interventions, including adequate staffing levels, improved working conditions, investment in resources, continuing professional development, fair compensation, and the promotion of a safety- and quality-centered organizational culture. Optimizing nurses’ work environments represents a strategic lever to ensure patient safety, restore public trust, and strengthen the long-term performance of the healthcare system.
Author Keywords: nursing workload, quality of care, nurse-to-patient ratio, working conditions, patient safety, Malemba-Nkulu, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Abstract: (french)
L’infirmier joue un rôle central dans la promotion de la santé, la prévention des maladies et la prise en charge globale des patients. Toutefois, l’efficacité des soins infirmiers est fortement compromise par une surcharge de travail persistante, des conditions organisationnelles inadéquates et une insuffisance chronique de ressources humaines et matérielles. Les données ont été collectées par observation directe, interviews, analyse documentaire et traitement statistique manuel. Les résultats révèlent que 87,7 % des infirmiers se déclarent surchargés et 93,7 % s’inquiètent de leurs conditions de travail. Cette surcharge se traduit par l’absence de diagnostic infirmier formalisé, une baisse de la qualité des soins (défaut d’asepsie), des erreurs médicamenteuses, une surveillance insuffisante des constantes vitales, un déficit de prise en charge psychologique et une désorganisation des services. Le ratio infirmier-patients excessif réduit significativement la capacité d’anticipation des complications cliniques, augmentant la morbidité, la mortalité et la durée d’hospitalisation. L’étude confirme l’existence d’un lien direct entre surcharge infirmière et dégradation de la qualité des soins. Elle souligne l’urgence d’actions structurelles avec ajustement des effectifs, amélioration des conditions de travail, investissement en ressources, formation continue, valorisation salariale et promotion d’une culture organisationnelle centrée sur la sécurité et la qualité des soins. L’optimisation de l’environnement professionnel infirmier constitue un levier stratégique majeur pour garantir la sécurité des patients, restaurer la confiance de la population et assurer la performance durable du système de santé.
Author Keywords: surcharge infirmière, qualité des soins, ratio infirmier-patient, conditions de travail, sécurité des patients, Malemba-Nkulu, RDC.
