Nurses’ perspectives on the impact of management approaches on the blame culture in health-care organizations

Healthcare worker burnout: exploring the experiences of doctors working in a maternity unit in Namibia

BACKGROUND

Globally, healthcare workers (HCWs) in maternity units are at high risk of developing burnout. Burnout can lead to multiple harmful impacts on HCWs, their patients, and the broader healthcare system. Little is known about the burden of burnout among sub-Saharan African HCWs. Although evidence suggests that maternity unit doctors in a hospital complex in Namibia are at risk of developing burnout, no studies have been conducted on doctors in this department yet.

METHODS

Through participant observation and a mixed-methods needs assessment, this study aimed to explore the drivers, experiences, and impact of burnout symptoms among doctors in this department, and current support mechanisms in place. Survey data was collected from 18 participants and seven in-depth interviews were conducted. Burnout risk was assessed using the Burnout Assessment Tool.

RESULTS

Seven out of 18 participants were at very high risk for burnout and three were at risk, showing a high prevalence of burnout risk. Burnout risk remained similar between levels of staff, while gender qualitatively impacted burnout-related experiences. Drivers of burnout were identified at personal, occupational, and systemic levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Over half of participants were at risk or at very high risk of burnout. Results highlighted a need for support and identified areas for intervention and further research. Such areas include blame culture, lack of trust between colleagues, and systemic drivers of burnout. This study contributes to the understanding of burnout among HCWs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Investigating the effect strength of positive risk-taking barriers on discharge decisions in occupational therapy intermediate care: A factorial survey

Introduction:

Positive risk-taking in occupational therapy intermediate care is a requirement, yet little is known about how positive risk-taking barriers influence discharge decisions at different experience levels.

Method:

A factorial survey was used to investigate positive risk-taking barriers (Limited Capacity, Risk Averse Family, Blame Culture and No Support). Participants self-categorised their experience level into Novice or Semi-expert or Expert before analysing four vignettes relating to recommending a home discharge for an older adult. Data were analysed using Multiple Regression and One-Way Analysis of Variance.

Results:

Seventy-four participants responded to two hundred eighty-one vignettes. The barriers that reduced the likelihood to recommend a home discharge for an older adult were ‘No Support’, Novices (β = −0.315, p = 0.002), Semi-experts (β = −0.313, p = 0.001) Experts (β = −0.254, p = 0.009); ‘Limited Capacity’, Novices (β = −0.305, p < 0.003), Semi-experts (β = −0.254, p = 0.006) Experts (β = −0.376, p = 0.001) and ‘Blame Culture’ Semi-experts (β = −0.240, p = 0.010). Novices were found to be less likely to recommend a home discharge by comparison.

Conclusion:

The ‘Limited Capacity’, ‘No Support’ and ‘Blame Culture’ barriers had the strongest effect and Novices were less likely to recommend a home discharge overall. These findings could inform future research and pre-registration Occupational Therapy education.

Rebuilding trust in just culture

Even before RaDonda Vaught was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, nurses were fearful of being held individually accountable for systemic errors. Leaders are now faced with repairing the loss of faith in just culture. This article provides an understanding of the erosion of just culture and interventions needed to improve trust.

Predicting Nurses Burnout through Quality of Work Life and Psychological Empowerment: A Study Towards Sustainable Healthcare Services in Malaysia

The nursing profession is a much-demanded profession that requires the individual capacity to work under intense physical and emotional dynamics in the workplace. Work related factors cause burnout and need attention from scholars and professionals to reduce the effects of the burnout among nursing staff. This study aimed to examine the meditational role of psychological empowerment and work-life quality on the burnout experiences of nursing staff in Malaysia. This study investigated a sample of 432 nursing staff from 10 registered hospitals in the Selangor area that have been listed on the Malaysian Health Tourism Council (MHTC) website. The responses collected via a self-reported questionnaire, and the data was analyzed using partial least square regression structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings statistically support the argument that the provision of quality of work-life (adequate and fair compensation, constitution in the work organization, safe and healthy working conditions, social integration in the work organization, social relevance of work-life, and work and life span) could promote psychological empowerment among nurses. Psychological empowerment statistically resulted in reducing the burnout effects by mediating the effect of work-life quality (QWL) on burnout. This study contributes to the literature that QWL factors need to be studied separately, and its affects on psychological empowerment, and how psychological empowerment permits curtails the effects of the burnout among nursing staff providing the services to health tourists. This study also provided important implications for the management staff of the nursing industry to initiate the management of burnout with the provision of psychological employment. The present study contributed to the current literature of burnout management through the psychological empowerment provided by the factors of the quality of work life.