HEALTH SYSTEMS ISSUES IN GERMANY RELEVANT TO WELL-BEING AND BURN-OUT

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-63
Author(s):  
Stephan Hofmeister

Background: The German ambulatory care sector is mainly sustained by more than 177 000 statutory health insurance physicians and psychotherapists. They provide approximately 650 million high quality treatments per year (versus around 20 million treatments in hospitals) including ambulatory emergency care around the clock. The system is based on self-employment with doctors and psychotherapists running their own practices. They are organized within a system of self-government on a regional and a national level. Satisfaction with working conditions and income is high. Objectives: This article considers the difference between employed and selfemployed doctors as the main key to understanding reasons by which employed doctors are prone to a higher risk of suffering from burn-out than self-employed doctors. It further describes how working conditions are changing and which challenges arise for doctors both in the ambulatory sector and in hospitals. Method: In addressing these objectives, this article considers databases and several surveys performed by the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung and German health profession organizations. Results and Discussion: Owing to several factors, the number of employed doctors in the ambulatory care sector is rising. As for employed physicians in the hospital sector, the employed doctors in the ambulatory care sector show significantly lower satisfaction rates with their working conditions. This group is at higher risk of experiencing burn-out or at least limited well-being within their professional lives. Conclusion: To prevent doctors in the ambulatory care sector from suffering burn-out it is important to reinforce the principles of self-employment within owner-run practice structures. It is also important to improve the efficiency of doctoral working hours by reducing the currently expanding bureaucracy and by cautiously considering the appointment of non-medical professionals that operate under strict guidance of doctors in addressing aspects of ambulatory care that would be suitable for this task-shifting. It is also essential to improve and implement e-health technologies, and for instance facilitate remote treatment in rural areas.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-41
Author(s):  
Shivangi Nigam ◽  
Niranjana Soperna

Violence against women is linked to their disadvantaged position in the society. It is rooted in unequal power relationships between men and women in society and is a global problem which is not limited to a specific group of women in society. An adolescent girl’s life is often accustomed to the likelihood of violence, and acts of violence exert additional power over girls because the stigma of violence often attaches more to a girl than to the  perpetrator. The experience of violence is distressing at the individual emotional and physical level. The field of research and programmes for adolescent girls has traditionally focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behaviour, neglecting the broader social issues that underpin adolescent girls’ human rights, overall development, health, and well-being. This paper is an endeavour to address the understated or disguised form of violence which the adolescent girls experience within the social contexts. The parameters exposed under this research had been ignored to a large extent when it comes to studying the dimension of violence under the social domain. Hence, the researchers attempted to explore this camouflaged form of violence and discovered some specific parameters such as: Diminished Self Worth and Esteem, Verbal Abuse, Menstruation Taboo and Social Rigidity, Negligence of Medical and Health Facilities and Complexion- A Prime Parameter for Judging Beauty. The study was conducted in the districts of Haryana (India) where personal interviews were taken from both urban and rural adolescent girls (aged 13 to 19 years) based on  a structured interview schedule. The results revealed that the adolescent girls, both in urban as well as rural areas were quite affected with the above mentioned issues. In urban areas, however, due to the higher literacy rate, which resulted in more rational thinking, the magnitude was comparatively smaller, but the difference was still negligible.  


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Marôco ◽  
Ana Lúcia Marôco ◽  
Ema Leite ◽  
Cristina Bastos ◽  
Maria José Vazão ◽  
...  

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Burnout is a psychological syndrome, characterized by a state of high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment, which leads to erosion of personal, professional and health values. This study reports the incidence of burnout in Portuguese Healthcare professionals.<br /><strong>Material and Methods:</strong> Burnout in Portugal’s health professionals was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey, using a zero (never) to six (always) ordinal scale, on a sample of 1 262 nurses and 466 physicians with mean age of 36.8 year (SD = 12.2) and 38.7 (SD = 11.0), respectively. Participants came from all national districts (35% Lisbon, 18% Oporto, 6% Aveiro, 6% Setúbal, 5% Coimbra, 5% Azores and Madeira), working in hospitals (54%), Families’ Health Units (30%), Personalized Health Units (8%) and other public or private institutions (8%).<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Analysis of MBI-HSS scores, stratified by district, revealed that both types of professionals had moderate to high levels of burnout (M = 3.0, SD = 1.7) with no significant differences between the two groups. Vila Real (M = 3.8, SD = 1.7) and Madeira (M = 2.5, SD = 1.5) were the regions where burnout levels were higher and lower, respectively. Burnout levels did not differ significantly between Hospital, Personalized Health Units and Families’ Health Centers. Professionals with more years in the function were less affected by Burnout (r = -0.15). No significant association was observed with the duration of the working day (r = 0.04). The strongest predictor of burnout was the perceived quality of working conditions (r = -0.35).<br /><strong>Discussion:</strong> The occurrence of the burnout syndrome in Portuguese health professionals is frequent, being associated with a poor working conditions perception and reduced professional experience. The incidence of the burnout syndrome shows regional differences which may be associated with different and suboptimal conditions for health care delivery. Results suggest the need for interventions aimed at improving working conditions and initial job training of health professionals, as requisites for a good professional practice and personal well-being.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> At the national level, between 2011 and 2013, 21.6% of healthcare professionals showed moderate burnout and 47.8% showed high burnout. The perception of poor working conditions was the main predictor of burnout occurrence among the Portuguese health professionals.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 477-483
Author(s):  
Sabine Abbasi ◽  

In accordance with the German annual health report mental disorders of employees continue to grow. In particular the German employees of the healthcare sector have work challenges like demographic change, lack of specialists, etc. Thus it seems obvious that these employees suffer from risk of a high stress level. The present paper focuses primarily on quantitative analysis of the stress level of employees in the rural healthcare sector. This study analyses the mental and physical burdens. The results of this paper support the concept that employees of the healthcare sector experience a strong stress levels. The results also support the assumption that communication and company structure is influencing the individual stress level of these employees. Further results show that physical and mental comfort is strongly influenced by weekly working hours and they show there is an impact of working atmosphere and working conditions to mental and physical burdens.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah De Moortel ◽  
Olivier Thévenon ◽  
Hans De Witte ◽  
Christophe Vanroelen

This study explores the association between involuntarily working less or more than the standard workweek and poor mental well-being, and whether this relationship is dependent upon (changing) national-level unemployment and gross domestic product growth rates. Data from the European Social Survey Round 2 (2004–2005) and Round 5 (2010) were analyzed. The sample included 16,224 male and 16,184 female employees. Mental well-being was assessed by the World Health Organization Well-being Index. Three-level linear multilevel modeling was used to account for clustering of employees within research years and countries. Working involuntary long hours was positively associated with poor mental well-being for men. For women, working voluntary long, involuntary long, and involuntary short hours were positively associated with poor mental well-being. The mental well-being of women working voluntary and involuntary long hours was negatively influenced by deteriorating economic conditions. This study suggests women are more vulnerable to the effects of long working hours and working hours mismatch on mental well-being, especially during difficult economic periods.


Author(s):  
Juan A. Marin-Garcia ◽  
Tomas Bonavia ◽  
Josep-Maria Losilla

The aim of this paper is to study whether there is a change in the association between employment conditions and European employees’ well-being at three different time points (the years 2005, 2010 and 2015), characterized by different socio-economic contexts. We based our study on the European Working Conditions Survey. Logistic regressions were performed by adjusting for gender, age, level of education, seniority, occupation, establishment size, activity sector and economic activity. Adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are reported. In general, the association between employment conditions (type of employment contract, supervising, weekly working hours, long working hours, other paid jobs, working at weekends or doing shifts) and well-being indicators (anxiety, fatigue and dissatisfaction) seemed to continue being harmful, or had even changed for the worse since 2005. The paper briefly discusses the possible reasons for this situation and calls for future research on the relation between well-being and irregular type of contracts, self-employment, supervising others or hours worked per week. Some implications in public health policies are also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (12) ◽  
pp. 1481-1497
Author(s):  
Hila Axelrad ◽  
Arie Sherman ◽  
Israel Luski

PurposeThe current study investigates the association of employment at older age (60–80 years ) with the cognitive component of subjective well-being (SWB): life satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachOut of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the present study’s sample included 58,197 observations of participants aged 60–80 years from 18 countries. The authors estimate the direct effects of employment and number of working hours on life satisfaction while considering the characteristics of the job and their impact.FindingsResults reveal that individuals who do not work enjoy a higher level of life satisfaction and so do those who work in developing jobs. Work under pressure reduces the level of SWB and working in physically demanding jobs has no significant impact on SWB. The results confirm previous findings regarding the positive contribution of self-employment to individuals’ SWB.Originality/valueThe results allow policy makers to implement policy measures that can improve older workers' SWB.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
João Marôco ◽  
Ana Lúcia Marôco ◽  
Ema Leite ◽  
Cristina Bastos ◽  
Maria José Vazão ◽  
...  

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> Burnout is a psychological syndrome, characterized by a state of high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment, which leads to erosion of personal, professional and health values. This study reports the incidence of burnout in Portuguese Healthcare professionals.<br /><strong>Material and Methods:</strong> Burnout in Portugal’s health professionals was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey, using a zero (never) to six (always) ordinal scale, on a sample of 1 262 nurses and 466 physicians with mean age of 36.8 year (SD = 12.2) and 38.7 (SD = 11.0), respectively. Participants came from all national districts (35% Lisbon, 18% Oporto, 6% Aveiro, 6% Setúbal, 5% Coimbra, 5% Azores and Madeira), working in hospitals (54%), Families’ Health Units (30%), Personalized Health Units (8%) and other public or private institutions (8%).<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Analysis of MBI-HSS scores, stratified by district, revealed that both types of professionals had moderate to high levels of burnout (M = 3.0, SD = 1.7) with no significant differences between the two groups. Vila Real (M = 3.8, SD = 1.7) and Madeira (M = 2.5, SD = 1.5) were the regions where burnout levels were higher and lower, respectively. Burnout levels did not differ significantly between Hospital, Personalized Health Units and Families’ Health Centers. Professionals with more years in the function were less affected by Burnout (r = -0.15). No significant association was observed with the duration of the working day (r = 0.04). The strongest predictor of burnout was the perceived quality of working conditions (r = -0.35).<br /><strong>Discussion:</strong> The occurrence of the burnout syndrome in Portuguese health professionals is frequent, being associated with a poor working conditions perception and reduced professional experience. The incidence of the burnout syndrome shows regional differences which may be associated with different and suboptimal conditions for health care delivery. Results suggest the need for interventions aimed at improving working conditions and initial job training of health professionals, as requisites for a good professional practice and personal well-being.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> At the national level, between 2011 and 2013, 21.6% of healthcare professionals showed moderate burnout and 47.8% showed high burnout. The perception of poor working conditions was the main predictor of burnout occurrence among the Portuguese health professionals.</p>


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanna Raulio ◽  
Eva Roos ◽  
Kristiina Mukala ◽  
Ritva Prättälä

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine whether there are associations between working conditions and the use of staff canteen or packed meals among Finnish employees.SettingData were obtained from cross-sectional surveys on working conditions, conducted triennially (1997, 2000, 2003) since 1997.SubjectsIn each survey, the subjects were 25–64-year-old employed Finnish employees: 3096 men and 3273 women.ResultsEmployees at large workplaces used canteens far more often than those at smaller workplaces. Working conditions played a different role in canteen use at small and large workplaces, as well as among the different sexes. At small workplaces, physically demanding jobs held by female employees and low job control encouraged employees to use the canteen. On the other hand, at large workplaces, low social support at work encouraged the use of canteens among men whereas high mental strain at work meant they used the canteen less. Among women, eating packed meals was not related to working conditions, but among men, low social support and high mental strain at work were associated with more frequent use of packed meals.ConclusionsThe use of a staff canteen is largely determined by the size of the workplace and by employee education. The underlying factor could be the availability of canteens, a question which must be confirmed in further studies, since well-planned mass catering at workplaces has major effects on public health, well-being and the nutrition education of employees.


Author(s):  
Sandra Bošković

Introduction: The role of nurses in healthcare is of great importance for the well-being of patients. Nurses are exposed to daily stress in the workplace due to the lack of staff, irregular working hours, and lack of support from the management. Such conditions greatly affect the emotional and psychological health of nurses. This study aims to explore the factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) on the Croatian sample of nurses.Methods: A cross-sectional study on the sample of 119 nurses, using the MBI scale to assess burn-out in nurses.Results: The reliability of individual subscales expressed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficients showed that all three scales meet the criterion of internal consistency of 0.832. The obtained coefficients of internal consistency are 0.860 for the dimension of emotional exhaustion, 0.809 for the dimension of depersonalization, and 0.791 for the dimension of personal accomplishment.Conclusion: According to this research and comparative research results, we can conclude that MBI 22 can be applied as a valid and reliable burn-out assessment indicator among nursing staff.


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