Working Environment For Staff Research Articles

Lower Extremity Discomfort in Registered Nurses: Links to Nursing Unit Layout

This study reports objective measurements of lower extremity activity (amount of walking, standing, sitting) in nurses working in medical/surgical (M/S) and intensive care units (ICU), and explores nurses’ perceptions of nursing unit design impact on workload, lower extremity activity, and musculoskeletal discomfort. Nursing units are expanding in size, leading to nurses spending more time on their feet. Though limited in number, studies consistently report elevated prevalence of lower extremity discomfort/injury in nurses. This was a mixed method approach using physical activity measurement and semi-structured interviews of M/S and ICU nurses. Lower extremity discomfort was prevalent in the study participants. Time on feet and step counts differed between nursing units with different layouts. Average hours on feet ranged from 7.3 to 9.5 across units over 12-hour shifts. Nurses’ comments explained ways in which walking and standing activities were influenced by unit layout design and culture. Nurse leaders must advocate for unit designs that maximize patient safety, promote a culture of team spirit, and provide a physically safe working environment for staff. This study reports objective measurements of lower extremity activity (amount of walking, standing, sitting) in nurses working in medical/surgical (M/S) and intensive care units (ICU), and explores nurses’ perceptions of nursing unit design impact on workload, lower extremity activity, and musculoskeletal discomfort. Nursing units are expanding in size, leading to nurses spending more time on their feet. Though limited in number, studies consistently report elevated prevalence of lower extremity discomfort/injury in nurses. This was a mixed method approach using physical activity measurement and semi-structured interviews of M/S and ICU nurses. Lower extremity discomfort was prevalent in the study participants. Time on feet and step counts differed between nursing units with different layouts. Average hours on feet ranged from 7.3 to 9.5 across units over 12-hour shifts. Nurses’ comments explained ways in which walking and standing activities were influenced by unit layout design and culture. Nurse leaders must advocate for unit designs that maximize patient safety, promote a culture of team spirit, and provide a physically safe working environment for staff. Jing Li, PhD is a former graduate research associate at the College of Engineering, The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. Carolyn Sommerich, PhD, CPE, is associate professor at the College of Engineering and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University. Esther Chipps PhD, RN, NEA-BC, is clinical nurse scientist, associate professor of clinical nursing, at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She can be reached at [email protected]

Response of Chiropractic Organizations to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Report

ObjectiveThe purpose of this report is to describe actions by chiropractic entities during the early stages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. MethodsLarge entities that support chiropractic education or practice were invited to participate in this report. Leaders of various entities were emailed an invitation. A designee who was assigned by the leader provided a brief synopsis of actions the entity had taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only entities that responded are included in this report. ResultsFive entities agreed to participate: The Council on Chiropractic Education, Association of Chiropractic Colleges, Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards, National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company. Common themes included (1) recognizing the crisis and taking action, (2) establishing a safe working environment for staff so that services could continue, (3) delivering communications to stakeholders (chiropractic students, practitioners, licensing boards, and others) to guide decisions and direct actions, and (4) continuing to monitor the situation and respond as new information becomes available. ConclusionThese entities serve a large portion of the chiropractic profession. They have been quick to respond in a responsible, compassionate, and supportive manner to assist chiropractic licensing boards, practitioners, and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings are encouraging as the chiropractic profession looks to the future as it navigates changes in education and the health care environment in the months and years ahead.

Clinical tools and practice guidelines developed for COVID-19 preparedness and use at a secondary care hospital in India

The novel coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) that causes the disease coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has posed major challenges for health-care workers worldwide. Once the lockdown is relaxed in India, there might be an increase in the number of positive cases. Simple tools and practice guidelines may make clinical tasks faster, easier, and safer. Toward this objective, governments, hospital administrators, medical associations, health-care providers, and policy-makers worldwide have published multiple papers and guidelines. However, there remain several controversies on the pathophysiology of COVID-19, leading to uncertainty on what should and should not be done. It is in such a context that some simple tools and practice guidelines, based on best available evidence, are being shared on this platform. The contents of these tools have been taken from the World Health Organization guidelines and recent publications on COVID-19. The tools have been designed by a senior anaesthesiologist/medical administrator at a NABH-accredited hospital with over three decades of expertise in the private health-care systems. The purpose of these guidelines is to be prepared to deliver safe and standardized care to COVID-19 patients, while maintaining the ease of work environment for hospital staff. It is understood that all the health-care workers will be wearing personal protective equipment as per the guidelines released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. There are nine forms, namely patient workflow, screening form, triage form, COVID-19 severity score tool, outpatient management guidelines, advise; COVID-19 inpatient management guidelines, modified early warning signs chart, and oxygen therapy flow chart. These are simple, on-paper tools, and guidelines for use at secondary care hospitals, in compliance with the governmental regulations.

Analysis of the work environment and intention of perioperative nurses to quit work.

Objective:to investigate how the perioperative work environment affects work dissatisfaction, professional exhaustion and the perception of the quality of care about the intention of abandoning the work of perioperative nurses.Method:cross-sectional study with 130 nurses working in the surgical area of a high-tech Spanish public university hospital. The scale of the nursing practice environment, Maslach’s exhaustion inventory, the questions about job satisfaction, the perception of the care quality and intention to abandon work to collect data were used. Descriptive, inferential and logistic regression statistics were made.Results:in general, 20% of perioperative nurses would want to quit their work. The dimension of the work environment of staff and resources, dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion in nurses were factors that indicated the intention of perioperative nurses to abandon work.Conclusion:the implementation of strategies for the retention of perioperative nurses should be considered, improving the factors that indicate how the work environment, especially the allocation of personnel and resources, dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Creating positive work environments based on magnetic values can be a key strategy.

Work Environment: Training Nursing Managers to Change Operational Practice

The processes redesign is still a topic little discussed today within the care context. It promotes reflections on activities that really add value to the client and impact on the quality of care offered by the nursing staff. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the nursing staff work environment by applying the “Nursing Practice Work Environment Scale [PESNWI]”. The IQG Nursing Certification Program discusses the redesign of the care model based on conditions in the workplace to which nursing is inserted. A cross-sectional research was conducted with a quantitative approach in nursing professionals at a Brazilian general hospital, enrolled in the IQG Nursing Certification Program. The analyzed institution has 744 nursing professionals, with the participation of 60.6% of its total. The research used comparative analysis between management and care positions. Results differ from other national studies of the same nature in hospital settings. In general, the nursing practice environment composition was considered as favorable. The unfavorable dimensions to nursing practice are linked to the management and leadership of the head nurse, observed by their fragility as care coordinators. Another point to consider is the collaborative nature of the relationship between nurses and other team members, as well as their impact on their members’ autonomy and status in the organization. The work environment perception declared by the nurse managers and the care team is significantly different, which disadvantages the implementation of effective practices of professional repositioning before the multi-professional team and senior institutional management. Significant changes in care practices are understood to occur when the nursing managers understands their role in the team and the real practical problems of daily life, acting in a participatory manner with their team, strengthening the functional autonomy of all professionals

호텔 객실부서 직원의 근무환경이 조직몰입과 서비스 지향성에 미치는 영향

호텔 객실부서 직원의 근무환경이 조직몰입과 서비스 지향성에 미치는 영향

Person-centered dementia care in acute hospital wards—The influence of staff knowledge and attitudes

Person-centered dementia care practices in acute hospital wards are suboptimal and not commonly measured. Although previous research has indicated that the work environment of staff influences their perceptions of person-centeredness, few studies have examined how their personal attributes, such as their level of dementia knowledge and attitudes, influence their person-centered dementia care practices. A questionnaire was distributed to test the relationship between staff perceptions of person-centered dementia care and their dementia knowledge and attitudes in general medical wards. The results showed that staff with better dementia knowledge were significantly more critical about the extent they were using evidence-based guidelines and external expertise. Staff with better attitudes perceived themselves as using more individualized care practices. The findings demonstrate that to enhance person-centered dementia care in acute hospitals, staff training programs should develop both their intellectual and interpersonal skills to improve their knowledge and attitudes.

The association between psychological strains and life satisfaction: Evidence from medical staff in China

BackgroundPrevious research on the relationship between life satisfaction and its influencing factors has mainly focused on the work domain. Psychological strains, which result from these stress-related outcomes, have not been paid enough attention to explain how it correlates negatively with life satisfaction. MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted, using questionnaires sent to selected medical staff in a public hospital in Shandong, China (N = 1012). Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate how psychological strains influencing life satisfactions among medical staff. ResultsThe findings indicate that aspiration strain and deprivation strain have significantly negative impact on medical staff's life satisfaction even with other variables controlled for. Weekly working hour was a significant predictor for life satisfaction. Family factors, such as marital status and kids in the family as well as social support were important factors in influencing individuals’ life satisfaction. ConclusionThe current study highlights the negative associations between aspiration strain, deprivation strain and life satisfaction. The result underlines the importance of actions taken to prevent and combat psychological strains. It also provides some evidence for policy makers to improve the work environment for medical staff, such as reduce weekly working hours and enhance social support in order to increase medical staff's life satisfaction.

Quality of prison life, violence and mental health in Dubrava prison.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between the quality of prison life and mental health among prisoners and the occurrence of violence. In total, 203 prisoners from Dubrava Correctional Center in Kosovo participated. Data on background characteristics of the prisoners, quality of prison life, mental health symptoms and exposure to physical, psychological and sexual violence were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed using general linear models (GLM) and manual backwards model search with step-wise exclusion. The GLM analysis showed a significant negative association between anxiety symptom load (-1.4), physical violence (-1.5) and psychological violence (-1.9), and quality of prison life. Furthermore, it appeared that prisoners rating of quality of life (QoL) increased with time among prisoners not exposed to violence, while this was not seen among prisoners exposed to violence. Finally, there was an inverse association between the dimensions of respect, fairness, humanity and good staff/prisoner relations, and the proportion of prisoners exposed to violence. An environment with higher levels of respect, fairness, humanity and good relations between staff and prisoners was associated with lower levels of violence. Hence, a prison that focuses on promoting QoL and good mental health among prisoners will show lower levels of violence, thereby making the prison a more tolerable place for the prisoners and a better working environment for prison staff.

Managers' experiences of ethical problems in municipal elderly care: a qualitative study of written reflections as part of leadership training.

Background: Managers in elderly care have a complex ethical responsibility to address the needs and preferences of older persons while balancing the conflicting interests and requirements of relatives’ demands and nursing staff’s work environment. In addition, managers must consider laws, guidelines, and organizational conditions that can cause ethical problems and dilemmas that need to be resolved. However, few studies have focused on the role of health care managers in the context of how they relate to and deal with ethical conflicts. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe ethical problems experienced by managers in elderly care.Methods: We used a descriptive, interpretative design to analyze textual data from two examinations in leadership courses for managers in elderly care. A simple random selection of 100 out of 345 written exams was made to obtain a manageable amount of data. The data consisted of approximately 300 pages of single-spaced written text. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate the data.Results: The results show that managers perceive the central ethical conflicts relate to the older persons’ autonomy and values versus their needs and the values of the staff. Additionally, ethical dilemmas arise in relation to the relatives’ perspective of their loved one’s needs and preferences. Legislations, guidelines, and a lack of resources create difficulties when managers perceive these factors as conflicting with the care needs of older persons.Conclusion: Managers in elderly care experience ethical conflicts that arise as unavoidable and perennial values conflicts, poorly substantiated values, and problematic organizational conditions. Structured approaches for identifying, reflecting on, and assessing ethical problems in the organization should therefore be implemented.

Association of GP wellbeing and burnout with patient safety in UK primary care: a cross-sectional survey.

BackgroundGPs have particularly high levels of burnout and poor wellbeing. Although both are associated with poorer safety outcomes within secondary care, there have been no quantitative studies investigating this within primary care. Furthermore, little is known about how occupational demands, burnout and wellbeing, and patient safety are all associated.AimTo investigate whether occupational variables (demands and support) are associated with patient safety outcomes in general practice through their influence on GP burnout and wellbeing.Design and settingCross-sectional survey in the UK between March 2016 and August 2017.MethodA total of 232 practising GPs completed an online or paper survey measuring burnout, wellbeing, occupational demands and support, and patient safety.ResultsIn all, 93.8% of GPs were classed as likely to be suffering from a minor psychiatric disorder, 94.7% as suffering from mild (22.0%) or severe (72.7%) exhaustion, and 86.8% as having mild (37.9%) or severe (48.9%) disengagement. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses showed that spending a higher number of hours on administrative tasks and on call, and feeling less supported in their practice, was associated with lower wellbeing, which in turn was associated with a higher likelihood of having reported a near miss in the previous 3 months. A higher number of hours spent on administrative tasks, a higher number of patients seen per day, and feeling less supported were associated with higher burnout levels, which in turn was associated with worse perceptions of safety.ConclusionTo improve patient safety within general practice changes could be made at both practice and individual levels to promote a healthier work environment for staff and patients.

Feeling safe or unsafe in psychiatric inpatient care, a hospital-based qualitative interview study with inpatients in Sweden

BackgroundA major challenge in psychiatric inpatient care is to create an environment that promotes patient recovery, patient safety and good working environment for staff. Since guidelines and programs addressing this issue stress the importance of primary prevention in creating safe environments, more insight is needed regarding patient perceptions of feeling safe. The aim of this study is to enhance our understanding of feelings of being safe or unsafe in psychiatric inpatient care.MethodsIn this qualitative study, interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 17 adult patients, five women and 12 men, from four settings: one general psychiatric, one psychiatric addiction and two forensic psychiatric clinics. The main question in the interview guide concerned patients’ feelings of being safe or unsafe. Thematic content analysis with an inductive approach was used to generate codes and, thereafter, themes and subthemes.ResultsThe main results can be summarized in three themes: (1) Predictable and supportive services are necessary for feeling safe. This concerns the ability of psychiatric and social services to meet the needs of patients. Descriptions of delayed care and unpredictable processes were common. The structured environment was mostly perceived as positive. (2) Communication and taking responsibility enhance safety. This is about daily life in the ward, which was often perceived as being socially poor and boring with non-communicative staff. Participants emphasized that patients have to take responsibility for their actions and for co-patients. (3) Powerlessness and unpleasant encounters undermine safety. This addresses the participants’ way of doing risk analyses and handling unpleasant or aggressive patients or staff members. The usual way to act in risk situations was to keep away.ConclusionsOur results indicate that creating reliable treatment and care processes, a stimulating social climate in wards, and better staff-patient communication could enhance patient perceptions of feeling safe. It seems to be important that staff provide patients with general information about the safety situation at the ward, without violating individual patients right to confidentiality, and to have an ongoing process that aims to create organizational values promoting safe environments for patients and staff.

Exposure of Healthcare Service Workers to Psychological Harassment at Work (Pilot Survey)

Research background. this research is important because the instrument of foreign researchers is applied and used to perform opportunity analysis in Lithuania. The aim of the study – to assess the experienced psychological harassment of healthcare institution workers at work. Methods. Doctors, tenders and tender assistants working in a healthcare institution were surveyed using the questionnaire survey method. For the evaluation of harassment at work, the Work Harassment scale (WHs), which was composed by K. björkqvist and K. Österman in 1994, was used. Results. the performed pilot study revealed that psychological harassment at work took various forms, such as the limitation of freedom of self-expression, situations of intentional disruption in one or another way, loud bawling out, etc. these factors are common in many organisations. Workers at healthcare institutions more often than workers at other organisations face manifestations of psychological harassment because of the specifcity of activity. The most common forms of psychological harassment were identifed in the study. They are situations where a worker was loudly bawled out (17.3%) or criticised (17.4%), falsehoods were said about a worker (23.9%). Less common forms of psychological harassment were assertion that a worker has mental disorders or isolation. Conclusions. Psychological harassment might take various forms in the medical staff work environment. the WHs, which was used for the assessment, is an appropriate tool for further assessments of psychological harassment of healthcare service workers.Keywords: psychological harassment, psychological violence.

Impact of Work Environment upon Housekeeping Services Staff's Health Status at Medical City in Baghdad City

AbstractObjective(s): To evaluate housekeeping services staff work environment and their health status, as well as to determine the impact of the work environment upon their health status.Methodology: A descriptive design is employed throughout the present study to evaluate housekeeping services staff work environment and their health status, as well as to determine the impact of the work environment upon their health status from November 3rd 2017 to June 30th 2018. A purposive “nonprobability” sample of (101) housekeeping staff is selected for the present study. An instrument is constructed for the purpose of the study and it is consists of (2) parts: (I) Evaluation of work environment, and (II) Evaluation of housekeeping staff's health status. A pilot study is conducted for the determination of the instrument’s validity and reliability. The content validity of the instrument is determined by panel of (35) experts. So, the instrument is considered adequately valid measure after performing the modifications that based on the experts’ responses. The internal consistency reliability is determined through split-half technique and the computation of Cronbach alpha correlation coefficient of (r=0.87) which is indicated that the instrument is adequately reliable measure. Data are collected through the use of the study instrument and the structured interview technique as means of data collection. Data are analyzed through descriptive statistical analysis approach of frequency, percentage, mean, total score and range and inferential statistical data analysis approach of linear regression.Results: The study indicates that the work environment is moderately risky (92.1%) andthe housekeeping staff health status is ranging between fair (42.6%) to good (42.6%) for most of them. The biological, chemical and physical aspects of work environment have great impact upon the housekeeping services staff health status.Recommendations: The study recommends that work environment can be monitored to maintain occupational health and safety; periodic medical examination has to be initiated and presented to the housekeeping services staff and further research can be conducted on different settings and large sample size.

Relación de las habilidades directivas y la satisfacción laboral en la empresa Chicken King De Trujillo, 2018

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo enfatizar la importancia la relación que existe entre las habilidades directivas utilizadas por los jefes y la satisfacción laboral del cliente interno de las pollerías Chicken King. En los últimos años, las habilidades directivas vienen desempeñando un papel muy importante en la satisfacción de los colaboradores en todas las empresas a nivel mundial, pues se ha demostrado que la manera o particularidad en que los directivos lideran a sus equipos, tendrá una repercusión directa en su satisfacción y por ende en su desempeño laboral; es por ello, que hoy en día los responsables del área de recursos humanos le vienen dando mayor importancia a estas habilidades al seleccionar a los directivos de la empresa, a diferencia de años anteriores, en que se seleccionaba a los mismos, sólo por el currículo y experiencia. En la investigación se emplearon métodos, técnicas e instrumentos de investigación como la encuesta y el cuestionario y su procesamiento en software para medir la relación de las habilidades directivas y la satisfacción laboral.

An Ethnographic Investigation of a British Quaker School: Belief, Values and Cohesion

This ethnographic study of a British Quaker school asks: ‘How is Quakerism expressed in this school?’ It considers the experiences of staff and students collected through reports during interviews and focus groups, and through lesson and general observations. The article distinguishes between formal and substantive rationality, finding that while the literature shows that many schools are run on formally rational principles, the data collected shows that a school influenced by Quaker values can resist some of the negative impacts of formal rationality. The article addresses some of the concerns of the group ‘Quaker Values in Education’, set up to work towards an education system in line with Quaker values; this school resisted or rejected the enforcement of practices on teachers by superiors, excessive assessment and militarisation. While Quaker values were seen by respondents to be important in the daily life of the school, the religious beliefs of Quakerism were not. Quaker values were related by respondents to low levels of hierarchy and a calm working environment for staff, and gentle discipline procedures for students. Meeting for Worship is analysed as a ritual that creates cohesion and has the power to communicate the values of Quakerism to those present.

Factors affecting parents' satisfaction with pediatric wards.

To explore the relationship of parental satisfaction with sociodemographic variables and to identify the possible determinants in pediatric and surgical wards of two public pediatric hospitals in Greece. The validated Swedish Pyramid Questionnaire that measures parental satisfaction with the quality of care was used. A convenience sample of 352 parents (response rate: 88%) was collected from two major pediatric public hospitals in Athens, Greece, from February to April, 2016. The satisfaction questions focused on eight domains: information on illness, information on routines, accessibility, medical treatment, care processes, staff attitudes, parental participation, and the staff work environment. The parents of the hospitalized children were highly satisfied with the behavior of the healthcare providers and the medical and nursing care that was provided, but they were less satisfied with accessibility in the hospital. The marital status and child's length of stay in the hospital seemed to affect the most dimensions of parental satisfaction, with the married parents whose child's length of stay was short expressing higher levels of satisfaction. Healthcare providers' approaches should be modified for parental satisfaction to be improved and parents' sociodemographics while providing health care. Nurses should enhance the quality of nursing care.

Decision support tools for energy efficient and healthy school buildings

Property owners are being forced to increase the energy efficiency of their buildings. Besides energy efficiency the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a larger part of Dutch primary school buildings is insufficient. This affects the performance, productivity and health of students and staff, and additionally has monetary consequences for school boards. The inability to achieve healthy, energy efficient buildings is largely explained by a lack of knowledge and experience in building renovation by school boards. The objective of the study is to provide school boards of primary schools with decision support tools to provide more insight in the technical, financial and organizational opportunities of renovation of school buildings. It is expected that this will lead to better balanced school buildings in terms of People (Indoor Environmental Quality), Planet (energy efficiency), and Profit (costs) and will contribute to a better work and learning environment for staff and students. Applied research methods are a literature review, semi-structured interviews, desk research, expert meetings, a focus group and design. Expert meetings were organized to get input for the design ofa decision flow chart. Both were tested by members of school boards. It was found that the tools provides more insight in the renovation decision-making process and opportunities to renovate the school buildings. By raising problem awareness about the indoor environment, the decision support tools are also expected to contribute to an improved IEQ in renovated school buildings. . The research was the basis for the development of a web tool for school boards: “Decision tree sustainable renovation primary and secondary school buildings”, published by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), design and consultancy firm Arcadis and the ‘Green Deal Scholen’.

The Relationship between Assertiveness and Job satisfaction among Nursing Personnel at Benha University Hospital

Nursing staff are the core stone in the healthcare organizations, Assertiveness enhances communication in work place and it increase the job satisfaction among nurses. Aim:-The study aimed to assess the relationship between assertiveness and job satisfaction among nursing personnel. Design:- Descriptive correlational design was used in this study Setting:- This study was conducted at Medical and Surgical departments Benha University Hospital. Subjects:- Included in this study were composed of (225) of nursing personnel working at the previously mentioned departments. Tools: - Two tools were used for data collection assertive behavior questionnaire and job satisfaction questionnaire Results:- The findings of the present study revealed that the majority of the nursing personnel had highly assertive and they were satisfied with their job. Conclusion: - The findings concluded that there was a positive correlation between nurses' assertiveness and their job satisfaction and this relation was statistical significance difference. Recommendations:- Periodical assessment for nursing staff work environment to reduce prediction and passivity, maintaining continuous staff development activities for nurses to improve their attitude, knowledge and skills in order to improve their assertiveness level. Encouraging excellent nurses by recognition and incentives are very important.

Shelter housing for cats: Principles of design for health, welfare and rehoming.

This review, the first in a two-part series, discusses practical aspects of housing and shelter design for the health, welfare and adoption of shelter cats. Evidence base: There is a relatively small body of empirical evidence to inform shelter design recommendations. The recommendations in this article are based on a careful review of the available evidence, some of which has come from allied fields such as the care of experimental animals. Where evidence is not yet available, recommendations have been based on field experience and collective expert opinion.