Well-being initiatives for hospital employees provided by the Dutch University Medical Centres: an exploratory study.

Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals (HCPs) face a range of sources of stress and dissatisfaction. Decreased well-being among HCPs is one of the causes of the caregivers' shortage and relates to poor patient outcomes. To improve well-being in the workplace, a variety of initiatives are offered. This inventory aims to give an overview of well-being initiatives provided by the university medical centres (UMCs) in the Netherlands.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured video call interviews with all UMCs in 2021, employing a purposive sampling approach. An interview guide was used to ensure similar types of data from all informants were collected.

Results: 31 interviews were conducted among nurses, doctors, human resource personnel and occupational health department members. 203 initiatives were reported by the seven UMCs to improve or sustain employees' well-being. Initiatives concerned coaching, training, programmes, studies, apps and tools. The initiatives aim to improve physical fitness, mental fitness, personal development and balance, team collaboration, equip managers and function/context. Most of the initiatives are aimed at individual employees, and only a few focus on teams, organisations or the healthcare system. We also found that it is not evaluated if initiatives are effective to improve employees' well-being. Furthermore, HCPs' needs do not seem to be routinely evaluated upfront in the design of initiatives.

Conclusion: The urgency of supporting the well-being of HCPs is recognised, given the extensive amount of provided initiatives. However, this collection of initiatives must be critically reviewed in order to have a balanced offer that is effective and fits the wishes of HCPs. These results should be taken into consideration when creating, implementing and coordinating well-being initiatives for employees in the healthcare field.