Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the hospital work environment and organization: A mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT

To date, it is still largely unclear how the changes, as a result of Covid-19, affect the work environment and the perceived organizational and managerial context (OMC). Through a mixed methods design, this study aims, (1) to identify changes in the hospital OMC before and during the first wave of the Covid-19 crisis; (2) to further analyze and compare the impact of the crisis on the perceptions of the staff. For the quantitative phase, questionnaire measuring the OMC was used in Covid and Non-Covid wards. For the qualitative phase, we performed semi-structured interviews to identify positive and negative elements from the crisis management. Results from linear mixed models highlighted multiple tendencies following the Covid crisis. Differences appeared between Covid and Non-Covid units, with the latter showing greater difficulties following the crisis. A significant increase in participants' scores on interprofessional relationships was reported (P < 0.05). We found a significant decrease in job satisfaction (P < 0.001), absence of burnout (P = 0.001) and perceived efficiency of the service (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that hospital management strategies should aim at providing transformational leadership and information flow, as well as equal support for all working units, so that healthcare professionals feel motivated and work towards a shared meaning.

KEYWORDS:

• Teamwork
• hospital management
• leadership
• job satisfaction
• crisis management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Méryl Paquay

Méryl Paquay, MSc, RNCC, RN: Mrs Paquay works as a quality and safety care manager. She is a nurse with a specialization in community health and a master's degree in public health. She is also certified to work as a simulation instructor. Mrs Paquay is finalizing her PhD on patient safety and clinical debriefings. Her area of expertise covers topics related to hospital management, patient safety and the impact of the work environment on the quality of care.

Anh Nguyet Diep

Anh Nguyet Diep, obtained her PhD degree in Educational Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Brussels in 2018 and master's degree of Statistics from the KU Leuven in the same year. Her research focuses on blended learning with students' learning and satisfaction, online interaction and instrument validation as major topics. Currently, she works as a biostatistician at the Biostats Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Liège.

Zoé Kabanda

Zoé Kabanda, MSc, RN, works as an emergency nurse in pediatrics ICU and as a project coordinator in the Simulation Center of Liège on patient safety European projects.

Aurore Ancion

Aurore Ancion, MD is currently working in the Emergency Department of the CHU Liège. She is involved the unit coordination and management. She is also certified to work as a simulation instructor and participates in the development of the initial training in emergency medicine cursus.

Justine Piazza

Justine Piazza, MD is currently working in the Emergency Department of the CHU Liège. She has started a PhD on patient education in the ED. She is also certified to work as a simulation instructor and participates in the development of the initial training in emergency medicine cursus.

Alexandre Ghuysen

Alexandre Ghuysen, MD, PhD qualified as medical doctor from the Liège University in 1992, trained in internal medicine in 1997 and emergency medicine in 1999, and PhD in Biomedical and experimental science in 2006. He has been the promoter of several PhD thesis, notably in the field of emergency and acute care medicine. At present, he is both professor at Liège University where he teaches acute care medicine, Head of the Center for Medical Simulation at the same University and associated Head of the Emergency Department at CHU Liège. He is currently the President of the Belgian Society of Emergency and Disaster Medicine (BESEDIM). He has received funding for several national and international research projects (Interreg).