how well mental health workers are motivated: A case study from Croatia

Like the other medical professions, mental health workers need appropriate motivation for effective treatment work. This study aims to determine the motivators and assess working conditions of mental health workers and how they differ from the motivators and working conditions of other health workers on the example of one of the largest hospital institutions in Croatia - University Hospital Centre Zagreb. The study chose a survey method and distributed a questionnaire among 124 Zagreb University Hospital Centre health workers. The sample covers about 16% of the entire medical staff of the observed departments (psychiatry, emergency, microbiology, gynecology, anesthesiology, COVID-19 unit, and orthopedic surgery). The ANOVA method was used to detect differences in data groups. The results show that Croatian mental health workers are mainly motivated extrinsically. However, compared to other medical professions, e.g., gynecologists, orthopedists, or anesthesiologists, they are upper-middle motivated and leaders in several motivators. Observed Croatian mental health workers are more satisfied with their patient interactions than their colleagues. Female mental health workers are more motivated but less satisfied with the working conditions than males. The study showed that even in one medical institution, there are significant differences in the needs of representatives of different professions. The paper concludes that mental health workers have different motivations, which can be satisfied by creating appropriate working conditions. © 2023 LLC CPC Business Perspectives. All rights reserved.

ATTITUDES OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS ABOUT EDUCATION IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The danger of the COVID-19 infectious disease epidemic was declared by the Ministry of Health in March 2020 for the entire territory of Croatia. Working in healthcare during the pandemic has put healthcare workers at increased stress and risk of infection. Healthcare workers must use additional personal protective equipment (PPE) during a pandemic to protect themselves from infection. The aim of the research was to find out the attitudes of health care workers in primary health care about the need for additional education on the proper use of personal protective equipment. The survey was conducted from October 2020 to January 2021. Responses were collected through an online questionnaire. Notice of the study was sent to healthcare professionals by e-mail through healthcare professional societies. The questionnaire was completed by 184 health professionals. The largest group of subjects were physicians (N = 146;79.3%). Additional jobs due to COVID-19 disease were performed by 110 (59.8%) respondents. Additional tasks included work on triage, on-call duty at COVID dispensaries, swabbing, examination of patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, telephone on-call and patient information, and taking an epidemiological history as well as imposing self-isolation measures. Only 71 respondents (38.6%) had education on personal protective equipment during training for their current occupation, of which 27 answered that this acquired knowledge was enough for them to work safely during the epidemic. The majority of respondents (90%) believe that they need additional education on personal protective equipment. Based on the results, it can be concluded that education is needed both during regular education and through continuous medical education through professional societies. © 2022, Institute of Safety Research and Development. All rights reserved.

STAVOVI ZDRAVSTVENIH RADNIKA O EDUKACIJI U PRIMARNOJ ZDRAVSTVENOJ ZAŠTITI TIJEKOM PANDEMIJE COVID-19

Opasnost od epidemije zarazne bolesti COVID-19, Ministarstvo zdravstva proglasilo je u ožujku 2020. godine za cijelo područje Hrvatske. Rad u zdravstvu tijekom pandemije doveo je zdravstvene djelatnike u povećani stres i rizik od zaraze. Zdravstveni radnici tijekom pandemije moraju koristiti dodatnu osobnu zaštitnu opremu (OZO) kako bi se zaštitili. Cilj istraživanja bio je saznati stavove zdravstvenih djelatnika u primarnoj zdravstvenoj zaštiti o potrebi za dodatnom edukacijom o pravilnoj uporabi osobne zaštitne opreme. Istraživanje je provedeno od listopada 2020. do siječnja 202!. godine. Odgovori su prikupljeni on-line upitnikom. Obavijest o istraživanju poslana je zdravstvenim djelatnicima na e-mail putem stručnih društava u zdravstvu. Upitnik je ispunilo !84 zdravstvenih djelatnika. Najveća skupina ispitanika bili su liječnici (N=!46;79,3 %). Dodatne poslove zbog cOviD-19 bolesti obavljalo je 110 (59,8 %) ispitanika. Med strok signu dodatne poslove naveli su rad na trijaži, dežurstva u COVID ambulantama, uzimanje briseva, pregled pacijenata s pozitivnim SARS-CoV-2 nalazom, telefonska dežurstva i informacije za pacijente te uzimanje epidemiološke anamneze kao i izricanje mjera samoizolacije. Edukaciju o osobnoj zaštitnoj opremi tijekom školovanja za sadašnje zanimanje imao je svega 71 ispitanik (38,6 %) od kojih je njih 27 odgovorilo da im je to stečeno znanje bilo dovoljno za siguran rad tijekom epidemije. Većina ispitanika (90 %) navodi da želi ići na dodatnu edukaciju o osobnoj zaštitnoj opremi. Na temelju rezultata može se zaključiti da je edukacija potrebna kako tijekom redovitog obrazovanja tako i kroz kontinuiranu medicinsku edukaciju putem stručnih društava.Alternate :The danger of the COVID-19 infectious disease epidemic was declared by the Ministry of Health in March 2020 for the entire territory of Croatia. Working in healthcare during the pandemic has put healthcare workers at increased stress and risk of infection. Healthcare workers must use additional personal protective equipment (PPE) during a pandemic to protect themselves from infection. The aim of the research was to find out the attitudes of health care workers in primary health care about the need for additional education on the proper use of personal protective equipment. The survey was conducted from October2020 to January 2021. Responses were collected through an online questionnaire. Notice of the study was sent to healthcare professionals by e-mail through healthcare professional societies. The questionnaire was completed by 184 health professionals. The largest group of subjects were physicians N = 146;79.3%). Additional jobs due to COVID-19 disease were performed by 110 (59.8%) respondents. Additional tasks included work on triage, on-call duty at COVID dispensaries, swabbing, examination of patients with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, telephone on-call and patient information, and taking an epidemiological history as well as imposing self-isolation measures. Only 71 respondents (38.6%) had education on personal protective equipment during training for their current occupation, of which 27 answered that this acquired knowledge was enough for them to work safely during the epidemic. The majority of respondents (90%) believe that they need additional education on personal protective equipment. Based on the results, it can be concluded that education is needed both during regular education and through continuous medical education through professional societies.

Enhance the resilience of health care workers through the clear procedures for adverse events management, and psychological support: Croatian experience

Introduction. Occupational stress is an important factor affecting health. Difficult working conditions, unexpected situations, and emotional engagement are psychological strains of healthcare workers. Adverse event (AV) is unintended harm to the patient caused by medical management rather than by the underlying disease or condition of the patient. Resilience after AVs is one’s capacity to cope with those stressors. We present a Croatia case study in this paper. Material and Methods. This study will cover the regulations and quality standards related to adverse events, register of adverse events in University Hospital Centre Zagreb (UHC Zagreb) and survey for healthcare workers. Results. In Croatia, the law on quality of healthcare requires management of adverse events. Within the documentation of the quality management system in hospital, there is a procedure on the adverse events management (AEs), which clearly defines how to report AEs. Department for quality created a register for AEs and collect the data. Commission on quality of UHC Zagreb discusses AVs and preventive measures. Every year Department for quality research stress at work in a hospital. Employees give high marks to their clear role at work. During the COVID 19 pandemic, significantly more employees stated that they needed psychological support due to emotionally demanding work. A te for psychological support starts to work for all employees at the beginning of the pandemic. At the international level, UHC Zagreb is part of the European researchers' network working on second victims (ERNST), which is important for future activities to increase employee.