Cross-sectional nationwide study in occupational safety & health: Inspection of job risks context, burn out syndrome and job satisfaction of public health Inspectors in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the occupational hazards (job risks) of Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) in Greece and investigate possible relationships with burnout and job satisfaction. A sample of N = 185 PHIs total number of 606 (response rate 30.5 %), working in public health services departments nationwide. Data collection was performed in the second and third quarters of 2021, via an online survey. The survey included a questionnaire for risk perceptions, presenting risk factors in each risk categories: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial, and organizational, while burnout was measured with Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and job satisfaction with Spector’ s Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), also developed instrument for measured training quality and needs. A novel theoretical model was proposed, which after the results of the findings of this study indicated that for Greek PHIs psychosocial, ergonomic, and organizational risks were more prevalent compared to other risk categories. Moreover, psychosocial risks were significant predictors of burnout, while organizational risks and emotional exhaustion were linked to job satisfaction. PHIs working in rural areas reported higher perceptions of biological risks and burnout, compared to employees working in urban or semi-urban areas. This study contributes to the limited evidence supporting the link between job risks, burnout and job satisfaction adding new information to occupational health and safety for the field of public health inspection, which could be exploited to advance the quality of Public Health Services provision. Also reported high training needs especially, protection against biological agents such as coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).