A TIME MOTION STUDY FOR ROUTINE IMMUNIZATION IN MEDICAL COLLEGE KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL.

Time motion studies were rst described in the early 20th century in industrial engineering, referring to a quantitative data collection method where an external observer captured detailed data on the duration and movements required to accomplish a specic task, coupled with an analysis focused on improving efciency. Since then, they have been broadly adopted by biomedical researchers and have become a focus of attention due to the current interest in clinical workow related factors. However, attempts to aggregate results from these studies have been difcult, resulting from a signicant variability in the implementation and reporting of methods. Materials and Methods: This was an observational cross sectional study done in the immunization clinic of Medical College, Kolkata, over a period of 1 month (January 2021). The study population included mother/caregivers attending the immunization clinics with their children. The total sample was 97. Predesigned and pretested schedule containing observational checklist & pre-synchronized stopwatches were used to record service delivery time at the different activity points. Results: Data was collected from observing immunization sessions conducted on 103 children over the period of 1 month. Mean waiting time was 4 minutes 58 seconds. The vaccination process time ranged from 2 minutes to 6 minutes 12 seconds with median value of 5 minutes 24 seconds. The mean time taken at nutrition and health assessment table was 5 minutes 03 seconds and median time was 4 minutes 55 seconds. Post vaccination advice took mean and median time of 3 minutes 52 seconds and 3minutes 46 seconds, respectively. Mean overall stay time at the clinic excluding waiting time was 24 minutes 43 seconds. Service delivery took longer for beneciaries receiving multiple injectable vaccines with oral vaccine, age group of 12 months - 24 months, having new registration. Waiting time was maximum for those coming in between 12.00 PM -1.00 PM. Not all people are abiding by the instruction of staying 30 minutes post vaccination. Conclusion: Efcient functioning of immunization clinics is required to achieve seamless service delivery as more and more vaccines are being incorporated in NIS. This study dealt on utilization of time at a Medical college immunization clinic where key nding is that a substantial amount of time is lost for child consolation which delays post vaccination advice and overall procedure as a whole.

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