Healthcare Employees Research Articles

What makes proactive behaviors at work effective? Perspectives of health care executives.

Proactive behaviors at work refer to behaviors that are self-starting, future focused, and change oriented. Proactive behaviors are generally thought of as positive and desired and can benefit both the employee (e.g., job promotion) and organization (e.g., innovation). These behaviors can, however, backfire (e.g., due to unintended consequences), reflecting the "initiative paradox." The aim of this study was to investigate, through the perspectives of health care executives, how employees can be more effective when engaging in proactive behaviors. We used the episodic narrative interview method. Health care executives narrated instances of perceived effective and ineffective proactive behaviors among employees. We then performed an inductive qualitative analysis of these episodes to identify emerging themes and dimensions. The effectiveness of proactive behaviors among health care employees is shaped by three dimensions: managerial expectation (in)congruence (e.g., knowledge of expectations, engagement with chain of command), organizational priority (in)congruence (e.g., degree of alignment between individual and organizational benefits), and boundaries of action and change (e.g., nonadherence to regulatory or financial conditions). Among the dimensions, managerial expectations may be the most challenging for employees to navigate. Engaging in proactive behaviors is not a straightforward process. Navigating multiple dimensions is necessary for health care employees to be effective. Employees should be equipped with knowledge on relevant expectations, priorities, and boundaries when engaging in proactive behaviors at work. Health care leaders and managers should aim to clarify and periodically reassess these dimensions to facilitate effective proactive behaviors and to generate benefits for employees and the organization.

Effects of Consistency in Healthcare Settings on Employee Performance in Zanzibar’s Public Health Facilities: An Analytical Study

This study investigates the impact of consistency on employee performance within Zanzibar's healthcare sector. Consistency, encompassing core values, agreement, and coordination/integration, is essential in maintaining high standards of care and ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Using a cross-sectional descriptive design and quantitative approach, data were collected from 288 healthcare employees with a minimum three-month tenure of the four selected district hospitals in Zanzibar through structured questionnaires, and responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis with the aid of IBM SPSS (Version 25). The results revealed that while consistency is a critical factor in organizational culture, its relationship with employee performance is weak and statistically insignificant. Specifically, the regression analysis indicates that an increase in consistency is associated with a slight decrease in employee performance, a finding that contrasts with previous studies. Despite this, the study identifies the importance of core values and coordination/integration as distinct constructs that contribute uniquely to organizational consistency. The study concludes that while consistency is important, its influence on employee performance may be more complex than previously understood. The findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to enhance specific aspects of consistency, such as cross-departmental coordination and management practices, to improve organizational effectiveness. Future research should focus on exploring these interventions and their impact on employee performance and patient care outcomes in healthcare settings.

Employer support for health and social care registered professionals, their patients and service users involved in regulatory fitness to practise regulatory proceedings.

Health and social care employees may be involved in professional regulatory proceedings because their alleged behaviour raises health or conduct concerns. Employees, patients or service users may also be involved in a regulatory tribunal as witnesses. This study is about the role of employers in supporting them in this process. Taking an organisational support perspective, we interviewed 25 senior employees in health and social care organisations in the UK who are responsible for managing the employer's role in the proceedings. Template analysis was used to analyse the transcripts. Support for patients was limited to that offered during an employer's complaints process, and only one employer gave some support during the regulatory process if the patient or service user initiated regulatory proceedings. Support for employees in tribunals was little different to that offered during an initial investigation by the employer. However, where additional support for being involved in a regulatory tribunal was offered to employees, it most often came from the senior employees' own experience of the stressfulness of being a witness in these proceedings. Employers were not aware of training resources that would better support their employees to engage with professional regulatory proceedings. Employers offer limited support to employees who are involved in professional regulatory proceedings, and the support offered may depend more on senior employee's individual experience of involvement in regulatory proceedings to exercise this discretion. Patients, service users and other public witnesses receive almost no support from health and social care employers during professional regulatory proceedings.

A meta-Analysis of Health Care Employees Experience with Covid-19 in Africa

The objective of this review was to present evidence gathered from research studies across African countries on Health Care Employees experiences with COVID-19 pandemic focusing mainly from Human Resource perspective. A scoping review method was used to search materials from Google Scholar, PubMed, Thematic scholar, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct. Data on HCEs was collected from 12 countries from Africa. Out of 93 articles retrieved from search, screening left 19 for final analysis. Findings indicate that there were poor leadership on COVID-19 management in many health care facilities across Africa. There was shortage of HCEs in various COVID-19 treatment centers, increased workload and other HCEs had to go to work while ill. In some countries HCE experienced lack of training on COVID-19 management, poor staff welfare such as food and resting space, and majority of them were poorly paid. It was also reported that HCEs experienced disconnection from family members and others were exposed to physical and psychological work place violence. Governments in Africa should ensure that there is a proper leadership in managements of health facilities that will oversee adoption and implementation of human resource practices that enables HCE to properly fight against outbreaks of pandemics like COVID-19. The current review provided evidence that human resource practices as experienced by HCEs during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Africa had negative effect on their physical and mental well-being.

Optimizing healthcare employee performance: a serial mediation model.

The study investigates the serial mediation of psychological ownership and workplace innovation in the nexus between organizational leadership and employee performance among healthcare workers in Ghana. Six hundred and thirty-seven samples were selected using convenience sampling technique. The data gathered using self-reported questionnaire were analyzed using SEM-PLS. The findings reveal that organizational leadership directly improves healthcare employee's psychological ownership, workplace innovation and employee performance. Psychological ownership and workplace innovation separately and serially mediate the relationship between organizational leadership and healthcare employees' performance. The study highlights the significant influence of organizational leadership, psychological ownership and workplace innovation on the performance of healthcare employees. Healthcare organizations ought to allocate resources toward leadership development strategies to foster a favorable work atmosphere that promotes innovation and enables employees to assume ownership of their tasks and contribute to continuing enhancement, ultimately leading to enhanced performance. This research is a pioneering study on serial mediation of psychological ownership and workplace behavior in the association between organizational leadership and performance in healthcare settings in Ghana.

Work-family conflicts and sickness absence due to mental disorders among female municipal employees - a register-linked study comparing health and social care employees to employees in other sectors.

This study aimed to examine (i) if work-to-family conflicts (WtFC) and family-to-work conflicts (FtWC) are associated with sickness absence due to mental disorders and (ii) whether these associations are different among health and social care (HSC) employees compared to other municipal employee sectors. The Helsinki Health Study survey data collected in 2017 among 19-39-year-old female municipal employees (N=2557) were prospectively linked to administrative Social Insurance Institution of Finland register data on long-term sickness absence due to mental disorders (SA-MD) covering a follow-up of up to five years. The associations of WtFC and FtWC and SA-MD were analyzed using Cox regression models stratified by employment sector (HSC, education, other), adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. Of HSC employees, 16% had SA-MD during the follow-up, which surpassed the figures for employees in education (12%) and other (11%) sectors. In the HSC sector, the youngest employees had the highest prevalence of SA-MD and, among HSC employees, prior SA-MD was the most common. In Kaplan-Meier curves, the steepest increase in SA-MD was observed for HSC employees. WtFC [hazard ratio (HR) 1.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.39-2.45] and FtWC (HR 1.78, 95% CI 1.32-2.40) were associated with SA-MD among HSC employees. The associations were rather similar for employees in education and other sectors. Adjusting for work-related factors and health history somewhat attenuated the associations. Better possibilities to combine work and family life might aid in preventing SA-MD in all employment sectors.

Alzheimer's dementia in people with Down syndrome : Results of guideline-assisted expert interviews on healthcare deficits in the diagnostics and treatment as well as solution approaches

People with Down syndrome have agenetically increased risk of developing early onset Alzheimer's dementia. An interview study with healthcare providers, patient representatives and employees in residential and work facilities was conducted to identify deficits in the healthcare process and approaches to overcoming them. In this study 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Alack of knowledge and experience on the part of medical service providers in dealing with and providing medical care for people with Down syndrome was identified as akey challenge. In addition, the diagnosis of dementia in people with Down syndrome is difficult for various reasons (including lack of appropriate diagnostic tools in standard care and lack of time or financial resources). Doubts were expressed about the efficacy of antidementia medications and the reasons for the increased use of sedatives were discussed. Attentive observation of behavior and involvement of caregivers, regular review and reduction of polypharmacy and the use of alternative behavior modification techniques were mentioned as possible solutions. The identified deficits in the medical care of the target population and the approaches to solving them will be incorporated into the development of health policy recommendations in order to optimize the care situation of those affected in the long term.

Included and engaged: thesignificance of perceived inclusion among healthcare workers.

This study investigates the impact of perceived inclusion among healthcare employees on intrinsic motivation and its subsequent effects on work engagement and stress levels. Drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks, the study hypothesizes the following: (a) perceived inclusion positively influences employees' intrinsic motivation, and (b) perceived inclusion and intrinsic motivation serve as resources that enhance employee well-being by promoting work engagement and reducing stress. Data were collected from 407 healthcare workers across the European Union. The research objectives were achieved through statistical analysis of the gathered responses. The results indicate a positive relationship between perceived inclusion and intrinsic motivation. Importantly, both perceived inclusion and intrinsic motivation emerged as significant predictors of work engagement. Additionally, perceived inclusion was found to have a negative association with stress levels, underscoring its importance in healthcare management. The study is subject to certain limitations, including the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data, which may affect the generalizability of the findings. The findings highlight the importance of fostering perceived inclusion and intrinsic motivation among healthcare employees to enhance work engagement and reduce stress, thus offering valuable insights for healthcare management practices. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the complex interplay between perceived inclusion, intrinsic motivation, work engagement and stress within the healthcare sector. It also identifies avenues for future research in this area.

Cybersecurity on the Move: Investigating the Efficacy of a Movable Escape Room as an Educational Tool for Healthcare Employees

This research investigates the effectiveness of a cybersecurity escape room as an educational intervention to increase awareness of cybersecurity risks towards a safer work environment. The escape room aims to educate participants and cybersecurity and to make them more resilient against various cyberthreats. Method: To validate the effectiveness, a pre-test-post-test design with 96 participants was conducted, 42 also completing a delayed post-test and 29 participants served as a control group. All participants were healthcare professionals. Using the HAIS-Q, six themes were investigated (namely email usage, passwords, ransomware, social engineering, incident reporting, and software updates) using the three constructs from the Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour model. Results: The escape room had an overall immediate positive effect on participants (t(95) = -6.259, p < 0.001), and this effect persisted after 1 month (t(25) = -2.946, p = .006). Zooming in on individual themes, the immediate scores improved for email usage, passwords, social engineering and software updates, whereas the delayed scores improved specifically for email usage and passwords. Conclusion: The results show that the cybersecurity escape room may be a promising way to enable employees to resist cybersecurity threats. Nonetheless, the results need to be interpreted with caution. The research design experienced some dropout, meaning that results could differ with increased participation. Furthermore, it is not entirely evident which aspects of the escape room caused the observed effect; this is subject to future research.

Increased incidence of myxedema coma during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the post pandemic era: a single-center case series.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a major challenge for all health care employees, but it was also difficult for patients to gain access to health care services. Myxedema coma (MC) is an extremely rare but potentially fatal endocrine emergency. The aim of the study was to report an increased incidence of life-threatening myxedema coma that occurred in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we report a cohort of 11 patients with MC who were treated at the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, in the period from 2015 to 2023. Only 1 case of MC was recorded in the period from 2015 to 2019, and, in the same area, 10 cases of MC were recorded after the start of COVID-19 pandemic until present. Hypothyroidism was diagnosed de novo in 2 (18%) patients; the remaining patients were severely hypothyroid due to therapy non-compliance. Nine patients had primary hypothyroidism, and 2 had central hypothyroidism. Besides longstanding hypothyroidism, an additional precipitating factor for MC was identified in 4 (36%) of the patients. Due to the inaccessibility of parenteral levothyroxine, patients were treated with oral, mostly liquid, form of levothyroxine. The mortality rate in this cohort was 27.2%. In conclusion, the increase of the incidence of MC, which is a life-threatening complication of inadequately treated hypothyroidism, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources were limited, and in the post-pandemic era, underlines the importance of adequate communication with patients and of long-term availability of primary care for patients with thyroid disease.

Evaluation of moral intelligence in prehospital emergency healthcare employees: the case of BoluDüzce

Evaluation of moral intelligence in prehospital emergency healthcare employees: the case of BoluDüzce

Employee well-being as a mediating variable in sustainable human resource management, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction of healthcare professionals: A structural equation modeling approach

ABSTRACT Sustainable human resource management is a concept gaining attention worldwide from researchers and practitioners. This article is focused on nursing and exploring the influence of Sustainable Human Resource Management (SHRM) on Employee Well-Being (EWB) and the impact of EWB on Organizational Commitment (OC) and Job Satisfaction (JS) of healthcare employees. The study highlighted the need for hospital organizations to develop sustainable human resource management to enhance the well-being of healthcare professionals. A well-structured questionnaire (adapted, validated, and pre-tested) was prepared. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart PLS 4.0 was employed for testing the hypothetical relationships. Using the proportionate sampling technique, data were collected from 452 healthcare professionals employed in 55 private and 56 public sector hospitals in Punjab, India. The findings of the study revealed that there exists a significant relationship between SHRM and Employee WB, and employee well-being directly influences OC and JS. Moreover, study findings also revealed that employee well-being partially mediates the relationship between SHRM as an independent variable; and OC and JS as dependent variables.

Depressive symptoms, loneliness and social support in healthcare employees: does the source of support matter?

Purpose Depressive symptoms are a risk factor for loneliness, while sources of perceived social support from family and friends are protective factors; however, the complex mechanisms behind these factors have not been examined among health-care employees in Portugal. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the indirect effect of perceived social support from family and friends on the association between depressive symptoms and loneliness. Design/methodology/approach Health-care employees (n = 279; 242 female and 37 male) from 12 health-care institutions in Portugal participated in this cross-sectional study. The SPSS program with PROCESS macro (Model 6) was used to test the hypothesis regarding the indirect effect analysis. Findings Bootstrap analysis found that family as a source of social support had an indirect effect in the relationship between depressive symptoms and loneliness. Similarly, depressive symptoms had a significant indirect effect on loneliness through the indirect role of social support from friends. Moreover, it was found that the relationship of family and friends as sources of social support mediated the association of the aforementioned variables. Originality/value The findings of this study underscore the important role of depressive symptoms on perceived social support from family and friends, leading to loneliness, which is a public health concern among health-care employees in Portugal.

What are the barriers and facilitators for health and social care professionals accessing organizational wellbeing support services? A mixed-methods study

Recent years have seen increases in workers’ stress levels and sickness absence rates. Organizations have increased the number of wellbeing support services they offer employees, but uptake has been poor. This study investigated barriers and facilitators to accessing organizational wellbeing support services. A two-study, mixed-methods design in health and social care employees was used. Study 1 conducted a directed content analysis of qualitative interview data based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to identify barriers and facilitators. These were translated into survey items. Study 2 conducted a quantitative cross-sectional survey to assess whether the number of barriers and facilitators was associated with the likelihood of service use. Study 1 (n = 20) created a survey list of 23 barriers and 23 facilitators. Study 2 (n = 162) found that a greater number of facilitators was associated with a greater likelihood of service access, but number of barriers was not. We concluded that increasing facilitators may increase employee uptake of wellbeing support services. Facilitators include making access routes to services simple and efficient and circulating regular information to staff about available services.

Organizational ethical pressure as a threat to employee health: The buffering roles of ethical leadership and employee ethical efficacy

AbstractCompetitive pressures, resource constraints, high shareholder/stakeholder expectations, and other dynamics may lead to organizations putting pressure on employees to act unethically to meet goals. Yet, the effects of this pressure on employee health and factors that can abate it are unclear. Based on the job demands‐resources model, this study examines whether, how, and when organizational ethical pressure harms employees' psychological and physical health and what factors can buffer its negative effects. According to the findings of a two‐wave lagged data study involving 212 healthcare employees, results show that organizational ethical pressure causes ethical strain in employees, resulting in both psychological and physical health problems, with these effects less pronounced when employees have higher levels of ethical efficacy. An integrated effect was also discovered, in which employees' ethical efficacy increases when led by a more ethical leader, thereby buffering the effect of ethical pressure on ethical strain and health problems. Overall, our research identifies organizational ethical pressure as a significant threat to employee health and provides preliminary approaches to mitigate its effects.

A Cross-Sectional Study Exploring the Impact of Violence on Healthcare Employees' Work Engagement and Meaningful Work.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of workplace violence against healthcare professionals and its effects on work engagement and meaningful work in healthcare settings. This study is designed as an analytical cross-sectional study. This study surveyed 676 healthcare professionals in Turkiye between June and December 2022, using face-to-face and online methods. Scales measured exposure to and witnessing violence, work engagement, and meaningful work. The study has adhered to STROBE guidelines. Statistical analyses included descriptive, correlation, and linear regression. According to the results, shouting and cursing by patients and their companions were determined as the most common type of violence encountered by healthcare professionals. The effect of healthcare professionals' exposure to violence from patients' companion on work engagement and witnessing to violence from colleagues on meaningful work were found to be negative and significant. The findings emphasise the urgent need for interventions addressing workplace violence against healthcare professionals. Since workplace violence significantly reduces work engagement and the sense of meaningful work in healthcare setting. By highlighting the prevalence of workplace violence and its negative impact on both work engagement and meaningful work in healthcare setting, this study provides critical evidence for policymakers and healthcare administrators. The participants in this study were healthcare professionals who had direct contact with patients and their relatives.

Opportunities for nurses to address employee voice in health care providers: a scoping review

BackgroundEmployees’ decision to speak up or to stay silent can have implications for health care providers, employees and people who need care. As a result, a shift is needed from blindly following guidelines to implementing a sustainable proactive organizational culture in which employees, especially nurses, can evaluate their work environment and take advantage of growth opportunities. The aim of this review is to analyse the characteristics of employee voice opportunities in the health care context, particularly for nurses.MethodsThe search was conducted in April 2023 in the following databases: MEDLINE via PubMed, CINHAL via EBSCO, Scopus via Elsevier, Wiley/Web of Science and Cochrane Library. The search results were imported into the COVIDENCE program and screened by two researchers separately. We used the following search components: health care organization, opportunities, and employee voice. The review followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We identified 951 studies in five databases and via citation tracking. After we removed 102 duplicates and screening 839 titles and abstracts, 23 full texts were assessed. According to our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included 9 studies.ResultsThree main characteristics of employee voice opportunities that need to be considered to enable nurses to have a voice in the organization were identified. These main categories are individual factors, organizational culture, and available voice channels. It is not possible to rank them in order of importance; they are interrelated.ConclusionsTo conclude, employee voice is a process. In order for utilize employee voice opportunities, individual employee factors, organizational culture and its embedded context must be considered. Individual internal and external motivation, which is influenced by socio-cultural aspects and work hierarchies, must also be considered for successful use of opportunities.

Hybrid Leadership and Incivility in Healthcare

With a rise in incivility in the workplace, leadership is critical for today’s healthcare organizations. There are many leadership styles to consider for healthcare leaders. This research focuses on nine leadership and hybrid leadership styles to determine significant relationships to incivility among healthcare employees. We used the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey and Chung et al.’s Work Group Incivility scale to survey 174 healthcare employees. Our study found that managers need to know that one leadership style may not be the best and that a combination of styles may be needed in varying situations. We found that transformational and autocratic-transformational leadership styles reduced incivility between healthcare employees. Our study indicated that when a manager uses transformational leadership or a hybrid form of autocratic-transformational leadership, healthcare employees have less incivility.

The Prevalence of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome among Polish Women without Pre-Existing Cardiovascular Conditions and Diabetes: A Multicenter Study in Poland.

Background: A very prevalent problem worldwide is not only the high prevalence of chronic conditions but also the high frequency of their underdiagnosis and unhealthy lifestyles, both resulting in the development and inadequate treatment of civilization diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of abnormal metabolic parameters among Polish women aged >35 years who have not yet been diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or chronic kidney disease, as well as evaluate their lifestyles and look for relationships between individual lifestyle parameters and metabolic abnormalities. Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study conducted on a group of women aged ≥ 35 years without previous cardiovascular disease, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. As part of the study, patients had anthropometric measurements and laboratory tests performed (serum glucose, total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, non-HDL cholesterol and triglycerides) and completed the HLPCQ (the Healthy Lifestyle and Personal Control Questionnaire). Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was defined as a waist circumference ≥ 88 cm. Results: The study included 672 women considered healthy. In the analyzed group of women, 20.6% met the criteria for a diagnosis of obesity based on BMI, and 36.8% were diagnosed with abdominal obesity. In addition, 16.8% of the women had an abnormal fasting blood glucose result. Moreover, 46.4% of the women's blood pressure measurements were above the normal range, and as many as 57.7% of the women had abnormal non-HDL levels. In addition, 150 women met the criteria for a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. These conditions were far more common in women diagnosed with obesity. Physical activity was associated with a reduced risk of developing obesity and metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: The underdiagnosis of chronic conditions in the study population is high. More than 20% of women met the criteria for a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, the prevalence of which was significantly higher in patients with obesity. A healthy lifestyle was associated with a reduced risk of developing metabolic syndrome and its individual components. It is necessary to actively search for chronic conditions in patients, which requires the involvement of not only healthcare system employees but also government representatives.

Perspectives and Attitudes Toward Healthcare and Access Among Transgender and Nonbinary Patients in Ventura County, CA

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) patients require clinically and culturally appropriate and responsive care in affirming spaces, but barriers exist that prevent TNB patients from accessing or dissuade them from pursuing such care. In this research brief, we summarize findings from a virtual focus group (N= 6) designed to assess perspectives and attitudes toward accessing and receiving care among TNB patients in Ventura County, CA. Qualitative analysis revealed themes related to (1) the importance of enhanced TNB knowledge and sensitivity among medical personnel (particularly among nonprovider staff in healthcare settings), (2) the importance of updating data collection and data management systems with TNB-appropriate terms and diagnoses (e.g., on intake forms), and (3) the importance of self-advocacy and self-education among TNB patients in navigating the healthcare system. Findings indicate that those looking to increase healthcare access and quality among TNB patients in the area should focus their efforts on increasing TNB knowledge and sensitivity among all healthcare employees (i.e., not just providers), enhancing TNB data collection, and making institutional changes such that TNB patients do not have to rely as heavily on themselves when navigating the healthcare system.