Determining the Characteristics of a Healthy Environment Promoting the Health of Women Working in the Hospital: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The workplace is one of the priorities for health promotion in the 21st century by extending as the adult population extends. Also, the work environment has a significant impact on people's health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of a healthy environment promoting the health of women working in the hospital. Materials & Methods: This study was conducted using a qualitative method and content analysis. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling total of 48 working women, hospital managers, and health promotion specialists participated in the study. In this study, we tried to select participants with maximum diversity in terms of age, work experience, and the sector they are working in. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview. The texts of the interviews were extracted and divided into the meaningful units. The criterion of credibility or acceptability of the data (Credibility) was used to ensure the accuracy of the study results. Results: In the process of data analysis, 31 basic concepts that had the same characteristics were grouped into 12 subcategories, and based on the common characteristics at a more abstract level: they were transformed into 3 main categories, including organizational management and commitment to the health of working women. The psychological environment supports women's health, and also the social environment promotes women's health in the hospital by providing services. Discussion and conclusion: Hospital managers play an important role in creating healthy workplaces for women, and to achieve this goal, they should try to improve their health from the aspects of mental and social health and provide special services to working women.