The working environment in Health Care – Does the working environment influence the psychosocial health of nurses and are modifications of this working environment needed?

The work of nurses is often characterised as both mentally and physically demanding. Properties of the working environment in health care like changing supervisors, colleagues, workplaces, working hours and tasks can intensify both the workload and psychosocial influences of this workload. The content of the research covered the following question: 'Does the working environment influence the psychosocial health of nurses and are modifications of this working environment needed?'. The objective was to describe the most common influences of the working environment on the psychosocial health status of nurses. Recommendations in order to modify the working environment are also given. The design concerned a Systematic review of relevant information from the following databases: Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Blackwell Synergy, British Medical Journal, CINAHL, Embase, Esmerald Insight, Oxford Journals, ScienceDirect, Wiley InterScience. The main outcomes of the study are the following: the working environment influences job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, moral distress/stress of conscience (depersonalization), reduced personal accomplishment, overall burnout, work engagement, home life, sickness absence, leaving the profession. Recommendations concerned: empowerment, creating a more attractive working environment through modifications of the organizational structure, management style, and interdisciplinary relations. Poster presented at the international Conference Towards Unity for Health at the Thematic Poster Session named 'The Working Environment'.Context: Ageing of the population and an increase of the life expectancy are worldwide phenomena that result in a growing demand for health care professionals. Future problems are expected in providing for this demand. Not only difficulties in attracting new potential professionals, but also difficulties in retaining the existing workforce are suspected to be a part in a possible future shortage of workforce. A statistical significant relationship exists between the working environment and the developmental level of the workforce. The working environment can therefore be interpreted as a key factor in the prevention of potential future problems. Setting: The work of nurses is often characterised as both mentally- and physically demanding. Properties of the working environment in health care like changing supervisors, colleagues, workplaces, working hours and tasks can intensify both the workload and psychosocial influences of this workload. Objectives: To describe the most common influences of the working environment on the psychosocial health status of nurses. Recommendations in order to modify the working environment will be given if necessarily. Design: Systematic review of relevant information from the following databases: Pubmed, Medline, Google Scholar, Blackwell Synergy, British Medical Journal, CINAHL, Embase, Esmerald Insight, Oxford Journals, ScienceDirect, Wiley InterScience. Main outcomes: The working environment influences: job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, moral distress/stress of conscience (depersonalization), reduced personal accomplishment, overall burnout, work engagement, home life, sickness absence, leaving the profession. Recommendations: empowerment, creating a more attractive working environment through modifications of the organizational structure, management style, and interdisciplinary relations.Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherland