Building health friendliness hospitals

Background
To develop health friendliness hospitals where health care workers can maximize their potentials to provide the best care for patients, it is essentially to identify the organizational protective and risk factors and develop the correspondent strategies.  The main purpose of the study is to explore these factors which may affect health care workers’ adjustment and performance.
Methods
Six interviews were conducted by two trained interviews pertaining to organizational protective and risk factors of job stress experienced in hospitals. Each interview was conducted at work, and lasted for 30 to 60 minutes. Interviewees include a neurologist, a urologist, two RCW nurses, a clinical nurse specialist, and a chief nurse. All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed, and coded. Matrices were constructed based on grounded theory to identify themes and evolving concepts.

Results
Three major organizational protective and risk factors are identified to be important in reducing job stress at work.  First, there is a need to develop life skill training program to assist health care workers to develop coping skills. Second, there is a need to develop a workplace-friendly climate to promote open communication and encourage conflict resolution. Finally, hospital policies such as shift work schedules pose threat on health care workers’ lives.   .

Conclusions
The finding suggest the importance of building health friendliness hospitals which value health education programs, promote a healthier environment in the hospital, empower workers, provide adequate polices to strike the balance between life and work. In addition, it is crucial to identify organizational protective and risk factors to promote safety and health at work.