A Comparative Analysis of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods and Workload Indicators of Staffing Need in Estimating the Number of Information Technology Experts Needed for District Health Networks: A Descriptive-Analytical Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Human resources play a vital role in healthcare service delivery and efficiency. With increasing use of information technology and growing demand for IT-related projects, appropriate workforce planning is essential to ensure adequate staffing. METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2023 to estimate and compare IT workforce requirements in 27 district health networks (DHNs) affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, using the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approaches. A nine-member expert group participated throughout the study in reviewing the data-collection process, WISN activity classification and standardization, and the selection and weighting of MCDM factors. RESULTS: WISN provided valid workforce estimates for 21 of 27 DHNs. The estimates were identical to MCDM results in 15 of 21 DHNs (71.4%). Differences between the two methods were no greater than 0.5 IT experts in 19 DHNs (90.5%), while a difference of one expert was observed in two DHNs (9.5%). Based on the estimated staffing requirements, the projected ratio would be approximately one IT expert per 145 personnel across the 27 DHNs. CONCLUSION: WISN and MCDM produced broadly concordant workforce estimates in most DHNs. WISN may provide a practical activity-based approach for IT workforce planning when routine workload data are unavailable, provided that activities are systematically recorded over a representative period. MCDM can complement WISN by incorporating organizational and service-related characteristics into workforce planning.