The psychological well-being of healthcare workers in hospital settings is a topic of growing interest in the scientific literature, given the crucial importance of their role in ensuring high-quality care. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic health emergency has further accentuated the relevance of this issue, increasing anxiety and stress levels, testing the resilience and resistance of those working in care settings, revealing and highlighting how the accumulation of work-related stress can result in disabling pathologies for the caregiver, with an inevitable impact on the facility and care in general. Recent studies show that health care workers are particularly vulnerable to work-related stress, which can result from various factors such as high work demands, emotional pressure, irregular shifts, and interactions with critically ill patients. Burnout syndrome, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment, is widely documented among hospital staff. Research indicates that burnout not only compromises the psychological health of healthcare workers, but also negatively affects the quality of care provided by increasing the risk of medical errors.
In light of these factors, it is crucial to deepen our understanding of the dynamics that influence psychological well-being and work-related stress in health care workers in order to develop effective interventions that can improve their quality of life and consequently the quality of care provided to patients.
Preliminary assessment of the emotional burden and motivational aspects of health care workers (showing what very often eludes a first glance, making visible something that is often invisible), along with effective stress management, would allow for greater ability to remain calm under pressure, reduced frustration, increased ability to make informed decisions, and to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues. These aspects translate into an image of a safer and more caring health care system in promoting better quality of care.
The aim of this project is to highlight the importance of psychological wellbeing for those working in health care settings and to promote attention to this area, also with a view to identifying possible interventions aimed at identifying preventive and protective factors in relation to health care workers.
The aim, therefore, is to show what is very often invisible at first sight, to make visible what is invisible: to explore, accommodate and contain areas of criticality and fragility in the context of work in health care settings, working on interventions aimed at the psychological well-being of workers.
Age ≥ 18 years
Work activity carried out in departments classified as at risk for work-related stress (emergency care, oncology...)
Willingness to participate in the study and the ability to understand and sign the informed consent form.
Psychological/psychiatric comorbidities
Inability to sign the informed consent form
Healthcare workers, with a focus on contexts and departments considered more critical (due to the type of activity or the type of patients, such as the emergency area or oncology departments).
Cohort
Prospective
Psychological Assessment
BehavioralCollection of anamnestic and socio-demographic data, test administration repeated 4 months apart to monitor any changes
Assessment of indicators of work-related psychological well-being using the Maslach Scale (MBI), with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a widely used psychological assessment instrument developed for measuring and evaluating burnout of individuals in various professional settings. The MBI is a self-report questionnaire whose purpose is to measure the various dimensions of burnout that include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. Consisting of 22 items, each of which includes 6 different response grades on a Likert scale, this test facilitates the creation of tailored interventions and strategies to prevent or address burnout effectively.
Assessment of indicators of work-related Stress, using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months.
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is the most widely used instrument for assessing perceived stress in individuals aimed at measuring the degree to which situations in one's life are rated as stressful. It is a test consisting of 10 questions in which the individual's feelings and thoughts over the previous month are investigated and asked to express the frequency with which these occur using a Likert scale of 5 different grades. Minimum score is 0, maximum score is 40. The items were developed so that they can detect how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded individuals feel their lives are. Scores from 0 to 13: low perceived stress Scores from 14 to 26: moderate perceived stress Scores froom 27 to 40: high perceived stress
Assessment of coping styles through the Brief-COPE questionnaire, with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months.
The Brief-COPE questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire consisting of 25 items. The questionnaire asks to assess how often the subject enacts--in difficult or stressful situations--that particular coping process; there are four response options, from "I usually don't" to "I almost always do." Fifteen different coping mechanisms are considered: Activity, Planning, Suppression of competitive activities, Containment, Seeking information, Seeking understanding, Emotional outburst, Positive reinterpretation and growth, Acceptance, Devotion to religion, Humor, Denial, Behavioral detachment, Mental detachment, Drug or alcohol use.
Evaluation of motivation/attachment to one's work through the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (JAWS), with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months.
The Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (JAWS) is a 30-item scale designed to assess individuals' emotional reactions to their work. Each item represents an emotion, and respondents are asked how often they have experienced each one at work over the past 30 days. Responses are given on a five-point scale corresponding to the options: Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Quite often, Extremely often, or Always. The JAWS encompasses a wide range of emotional experiences, both negative and positive. The emotions can be categorized into four subscales, structured along two dimensions: pleasantness and arousal (intensity).
Evaluation of Empathy with the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale - BEES, with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months.
The Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the level of empathy. It consists of 30 items with both positive and negative connotations. The statements in the scale refer to real-life situations, and agreement is expressed using a 9-point Likert scale. The total score, calculated based on all responses to the various statements, can range from a maximum of 3 to a minimum of -3. A score of 0±0.5 corresponds to an average level of empathy. Positive values above 0 indicate above-average empathy, with higher values representing greater empathy, while negative values below 0 indicate below-average empathy.
Assessment of Quality of Life in the Professional Context through the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), with evaluation of any differences between a Baseline, and after 4 months.
A 30-item questionnaire designed to measure compassion fatigue, job satisfaction, and burnout among healthcare professionals. It is useful for workers engaged in emotional labor and professionals exposed to traumatic situations. Professional Quality of Life refers to the quality one experiences in relation to their work as a helper. Both the positive and negative aspects of performing one's job influence professional quality of life. The ProQOL measures three aspects of professional quality of life: Compassion Satisfaction (the pleasure derived from being able to do one's job well); Burnout (exhaustion, frustration, anger, and depression related to work); Secondary Traumatic Stress (experiencing fear in relation to primary or secondary work-related trauma).
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