Workforce Profile for Allied Health Professions in Queensland Public Health Cancer Care Services With Linear Accelerators

Purpose: This article profiles staffing levels for all allied health professionals in Queensland Public Health cancer care services to determine whether linear accelerator hours per clinical day are a potentially useful predictor of workforce requirements. Currently, radiation therapists and radiation oncology medical physicists have developed professional guidelines for calculating staffing full-time equivalents (FTEs) related to linear accelerator hours per clinical day. Methods: Queensland Public Health service managers were surveyed using a self-reported standardized data collection tool, requesting the FTE allied health staff provided for a number of services, including cancer care. Linear accelerator hours per clinical day were also collected. A linear regression model was employed to determine the relationship with the allied health workforce FTEs at linear accelerator sites. Results: High correlations existed between linear accelerator hours per clinical day and radiation therapists (0.99), radiation oncology medical physicists (0.95), pharmacy services (pharmacists and assistants combined; 0.91), and rehabilitation allied health staff (> 0.95). A linear regression model was employed to determine the allied health pharmacy service and rehabilitation workforce FTEs. Conclusion: In the four Queensland Public Health cancer care services with linear accelerators, radiation therapists, radiation oncology medical physicists, pharmacy services, and rehabilitation allied health staff, cancer care staff are highly correlated with linear accelerator hours per clinical day. The findings support identifying and establishing alternative denominators for allied health workforce requirements in cancer care beyond those of expert knowledge, opinion, and consensus.