Perceived work environment and patient-centered behavior: A study of selected district hospitals in the central region of Ghana

Abstract

Introduction Quality work environment has been established as a marker of employee value creation. A plethora of qualitative evidence suggested that sustained focus on employee satisfaction through changes in the work environment, communication of patient-centered care strategic vision, management of staff workload, and workplace social support are factors that stimulate Patient-centered care. Yet, it seems that the effect of work environment on the patient-centered behavior of hospital employees has not been statistically estimated, and it is unclear which of the elements of the work environment best predict patient-centered behavior. Methods Using a survey design and quantitative methods to gather and analyze data, a sample of 179 respondents from three district hospitals were included in the study using a multi-stage proportional sampling technique. Data were collected using self-administered Likert item questionnaires. Simple linear regression was used to estimate the influence of work environment elements on patient-centered behavior. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine the best predictors of patient-centered behavior of hospital employees. Results Perceived internal communication of patient-centered care strategies (β = 0.23; P<0.001), supervisor support (β = 0.31; P<0.001), coworker support (β = 0.50; P<0.001), and working conditions (β = 0.18; P<0.013) had a positive significant effect on patient-centered behavior of employees. Good predictors of employees’ patient-centered behavior were perceived coworker support (β = 0.51; P<0.001) and job characteristics (β = 0.16; P<0.01). Conclusion The work environment of hospital employees significantly affects their patient-centered behavior. Co-worker support and job characteristics were the best predictors of the patient-centered behavior of hospital employees. Hospitals Managers seeking to improve patient-centered behavior through employee value creation may consider improved job characteristics in combination with workplace social support and or communication of PCC strategies and goals.

The Association Between Pregnancy-Related Factors and Health Status Before and After Childbirth With Satisfaction With Skilled Delivery in Multiple Dimensions Among Postpartum Mothers in the Akatsi South District, Ghana

“…Studies have found inadequate health professionals, inappropriate prognoses and therapeutics, inadequate needed capital, poor referral systems, preference of skilled personnel, and previous exposure to complications as health system barriers that affect skilled delivery to mothers (2,5,12,(15)(16)(17). Satisfaction of patients with skilled delivery has been reported to be associated with sociodemographic factors (Figure 1) (1, 4, 7-9, 14, 18, 19), long waiting time (4,14,19), treatment outcome (2,(18)(19)(20), availability, and preference of healthcare providers (2,4).…”

The development and validation of the hospital organizational environment scale for medical staff in China

“…After duplicates and conference reports were removed, 24 papers remained, and based on the team members’ intensive reading, 8 papers were considered for inclusion. The retrieved articles ( 5 , 12–15 , 24–26 ) were assessed independently by two authors, information was extracted from the eligible studies, and the English items were preliminarily translated.…”

“…Early studies of environmental psychology mostly focused on the impact of the physical environment on people’s mental health and behavior, including factors such as noise, air pollution, climate, and related architectural design ( 1–3 ). With the change in social problems, environmental psychology focuses more on exploring the relationship between social environment factors and human behavior ( 4 , 5 ). Hence, in the study, the organizational environment comprised the psychological and social environment perceived by employees.…”

“…The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) ( 9 ) suggested that the hospital work environment needs to provide organizational support to meet the autonomy needs, the positioning of values and management methods at the organizational system level. In literature reviews ( 4 , 5 , 7 , 10 , 11 ), numerous theories and different definitions of the work environment have been identified due to differences in research objectives and fields. Based on the above studies, the key elements of the organizational environment include the following four: the hospital organizational culture ( 12 ), referring to the cultural mentality, ideology and behavior norms formed by medical personnel in medical practice.…”

Data Modelling in Human Resource Management: Influencing Factors of Employees’ Job Satisfaction

“…On the other hand, perceived relationship with colleagues refers to the peer relation of co-workers that are in the same or similar position level in the organization, represented by friendliness and kindness from colleagues. Studies have found that co-worker support is considered to be predictors of the employees' behavior [47]. However, such influences may differ with different genders, and studies have proved that perceived co-worker support was more strongly related to organization commitment which is typical outcome of job satisfaction for women than for men [48].…”