Integrated Employee Occupational Health and Organizational-Level Registered Nurse Outcomes

The Impact of Involvement in Whole Health System for Veterans or Participating in It for Oneself on Job Attitudes in VA Employees

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to examine how involvement in the Whole Health System of care, clinically and personally (through employee-focused activities), would affect employee satisfaction, engagement, burnout, and turnover intent in the Veterans Health Administration.

METHODS

Multivariate logistic regression analysis of cross-sectional survey from Veterans Health Administration employees was used to determine the influence of Whole Health System involvement and Employee Whole Health participation on job attitudes.

RESULTS

Whole Health System involvement was associated higher job satisfaction, higher levels of engagement, lower burnout, and lower turnover intent. A similar pattern of results was identified when looking specifically at Employee Whole Health participation and associated job attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

Employees who are either directly involved in delivering Whole Health services to veterans or who have participated in Whole Health programming for their own benefit may experience a meaningful positive impact on their well-being and how they experience the workplace.

[Occupational safety and health promotion in the context of nurse staffing: A scoping review]

Occupational safety and health promotion in the context of nurse staffing: A scoping review Abstract. Background: Increasing workload has led to a rise in mental and physical burden among nurses. In order to prevent this, it should be investigated, whether and to what extent aspects of occupational safety and health promotion can be integrated into nurse-staffing ratios. Aims: The objective of this scoping review was to identify ways and approaches of including occupational safety and health promotion into existing nurse-staffing ratios. Methods: A scoping review was conducted. The literature search took place in relevant professional databases. Articles in English and German language published between January 2015 and April 2020 with a focus on (care) organisations, staffing, occupational safety and/or health promotion, and person-related services were included. Results: Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main topics were identified: staffing methods, leadership and control, and work organisation and design. No evidence was found regarding the inclusion of occupational health and safety and health promotion in staffing procedures. However, there is a demand for consideration of aspects "beyond numbers". Conclusions: In the further development of staffing-ratios, factors should be included that go beyond quantifiable measures and, by doing so, also address occupational safety and health promotion.

Veterans Health Administration's Whole Health System of Care: Supporting the Health, Well-Being, and Resiliency of Employees

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is implementing a Whole Health System (WHS) of care that empowers and equips Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest, and increasingly leaders recognize the need and value in implementing a similar approach to support the health and well-being of employees. The purpose of this paper is to do the following: 1) provide an overview of the WHS of care in VHA and applicability in addressing employee resiliency; 2) provide a brief history of employee well-being efforts in VHA to date; 3) share new priorities from VHA leadership as they relate to Employee Whole Health strategy and implementation; and 4) provide a summary of the impacts of WHS of care delivery on employees. The WHS of care utilizes all therapeutic, evidence-based approaches to support self-care goals and personal health planning. Extending these approaches to employees builds upon 10 years of foundational work supporting employee health and well-being in VHA. In 2017, one facility in each of the 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) in VHA was selected to participate in piloting the WHS of care with subsequent evaluation by VA's Center for Evaluating Patient-Centered Care (EPCC). Early outcomes, from an employee perspective, suggest involvement in the delivery of the WHS of care and personal use of the whole health approach have a meaningful impact on the well-being of employees and how they experience the workplace. During the COVID-19 pandemic, VHA has continued to support employees through virtual resources to support well-being and resiliency. VHA's shift to this patient-centered model is supporting not only Veteran care but also employee health and well-being at a time when increased support is needed.

The Health Status of Veteran Employees Compared to Civilian Employees in Veterans Health Administration

Introduction

Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is undergoing changes in the practice of health care focusing on approaches that prioritize veteran well-being. Given transformation efforts, opportunities exist to enhance the health and well-being of patients and employees alike – a significant proportion of whom are veterans. To date, differences in health status between veteran and civilian employees within VHA have not been examined.

Materials and Methods

Data from an annual organizational census survey with health promotion module conducted in 2015 were analyzed to estimate the prevalence of health risk behaviors, mental health, and chronic health conditions by veteran status within genders (n = 86,257). To further examine associations by gender between veteran status and health measures controlling for covariates, multivariate logistic regression analyses were utilized.

Results

Prevalence estimates generally indicated veterans have worse health status and health risk behaviors than their civilian counterparts. Results from multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated many significant associations between veteran status and health by gender controlling for other important demographic variables and a total comorbidity score. Compared to civilian employees within respective genders, both male and female veteran employees have increased odds of being a current smoker. Both male and female veteran employees have decreased odds of physical inactivity compared to civilian employees. For mental health and chronic health conditions, there are several conditions that veteran employees have increased odds for when compared to civilian employees of like gender; these include low back problems, arthritis, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders.

Conclusions

Veteran employees in VHA have worse health status than their civilian counterparts on a number of measures of health risk behaviors, mental health, and chronic health conditions. Given current organizational priorities aimed at cultural transformation, the present time is an optimal one to work collaboratively to enhance the health and well-being services that are available for patients and employees alike. All employees, particularly our unique population of veteran employees, will benefit from such an approach.

Associations Among Health Care Workplace Safety, Resident Satisfaction, and Quality of Care in Long-Term Care Facilities

OBJECTIVE

We performed an integrated cross-sectional analysis of relationships between long-term care work environments, employee and resident satisfaction, and quality of patient care.

METHODS

Facility-level data came from a network of 203 skilled nursing facilities in 13 states in the eastern United States owned or managed by one company. K-means cluster analysis was applied to investigate clustered associations between safe resident handling program (SRHP) performance, resident care outcomes, employee satisfaction, rates of workers' compensation claims, and resident satisfaction.

RESULTS

Facilities in the better-performing cluster were found to have better patient care outcomes and resident satisfaction; lower rates of workers compensation claims; better SRHP performance; higher employee retention; and greater worker job satisfaction and engagement.

CONCLUSION

The observed clustered relationships support the utility of integrated performance assessment in long-term care facilities.