[Economic evaluation of a workplace occupational health nursing service: based on comparison with atmospheric environment managing engineer].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to use cost-benefit analysis of activity to clarify the economic effect of prepared nurses versus atmospheric environment managing engineers as healthcare managers.


METHODS
For the study 111 workplaces were surveyed, workplaces in which nurses or atmospheric environment managing engineers were employed as healthcare managers. The survey content included annual gross salaries, participation in external job training, costs in joining association covered by the company, location and year of construction of the healthcare office, various kinds of healthcare expenditures, costs in operating healthcare office, health education, and activity performance in the work of environment management.


RESULTS
In the case of the healthcare manager being a nurse, benefit was larger than input costs at a ratio of 2.31. On the other hand, in the case of healthcare manager being an atmospheric environment managing engineer, input costs were larger than benefits (benefit-cost ratio 0.88).


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that nurses are an effective healthcare human resource and can offer good quality healthcare service. Therefore companies should hire nurses and actively promote the economic efficiency of nurses in workplace.
School of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Hye-Sun
HS
Jung
Bokim
B
Lee
D000328:Adult; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000191:economics*; D009785:Occupational Health Nursing / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies
Cost-benefit analysis; Nurses; Workplace