Abstract
Background
Work engagement is crucial for quality care at the primary healthcare level. This is especially true during the Covid-19 pandemic, as it has effects on the community from both a ...health and economic point of view. For example, inadequate work engagement can lead to fewer referrals to the secondary healthcare level. This study aims to examine the work engagement level in a public healthcare organisation at the primary healthcare level to further explore the role of work environment characteristics. The study addresses a research gap in the field of primary healthcare and emphasises the importance of managing the factors promoting work engagement. The future of healthcare will be strongly shaped by population ageing and Covid-19 disruption, which have created unpredictable and unfavourable working situations.
Method
A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational design was used including the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale with a non-probabilistic availability sample of 630 employees of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2018. The role of the work environment was observed by applying the job resources concept adapted to the context of the observed organisation.
Results
Work engagement in the observed organisation is higher compared to previous research. The research confirmed that job resources play an important role in employees’ work engagement. The high level of work engagement of the home care nursing employees coupled with the significant proportions of unengaged in the management of the organization also caught our attention. This difference highlights the importance of the leadership style, career choices and employment process that exist in an institution.
Conclusion
The study has important implications for healthcare management at the primary level for unlocking the work engagement by ‘managing’ the factors stimulating work engagement. The hidden potential is especially large in so called ‘soft areas’, such as leadership style, communication and organisational climate, which are also less expensive to manage than other aspects of the work environment.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aim
To examine the conflict resolution styles used in the physician–nurse teamwork in primary health care, depending on individual characteristics, contextual factors, and organizational and ...sociocultural contexts.
Background
Conflicts significantly affect the quality of healthcare services and staffing challenges, and consequently the performance and efficiency of organizations. Their management plays an important role in any healthcare organizations and deserves the attention of researcher's healthcare management and team leaders.
Design
A descriptive, cross‐sectional, correlational design.
Method
Thomas–Kilmann Conflict MODE Instrument was used on a sample comprising 173 nurses and 125 physicians working in teams at the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 2018.
Results
The most predominant conflict resolution styles were compromising and avoiding, followed by accommodating, collaborating and competing. The predominant resolution style among nurses was avoiding, and among physicians was compromising. There were statistically significant differences in the conflict resolution style according to gender (χ2 (1) = 0.035, p < .059), education (χ2 (1) = 0.014, p < .05) and tenure (χ2 (1) = 0.025, p < .05).
Conclusion
Our research results differed from those of other studies, possibly due to the difference in the sample and research setting. They indicated that the specifics of work and situation significantly moderate conflict in healthcare organizations.
Impact
The established divergence of results indicates the need for future research on conflict in healthcare settings to more consistently consider the situational context and the role of management and/or leadership.
This cross-sectional study was part of a comprehensive workplace health promotion program (WHPP) implemented in the work environment of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Western Slovenia, ...which included web-based educational campaigns aimed at promoting positive lifestyle changes among workers, including healthy eating habits and physical activity. As part of this program, which included campaigns in the areas of stress management, ergonomics, sleep hygiene, communication, work climate, and absenteeism, we developed and examined the engagement frequency in web-based content on healthy eating and physical activity for the companies included in the WHPP. This part of the project lasted from 2020 to 2022. Prior to the educational campaign, participants voluntarily completed a screening questionnaire. We analyzed the patterns of 370 workers in terms of their job classification (predominantly sedentary, predominantly standing, or predominantly physical), body mass index (BMI), gender, age, and selected indicators of diet and physical activity. Of the 88 companies participating in the WHPP, 26 took part in our web-based educational campaigns on nutrition and physical activity. Through an empirical analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics and a linear regression, we found that, on average, the engagement frequency (i.e., proportion of educational personal e-mails read) was highest among men with sedentary work, with older employees participating more actively than expected. Moreover, workers with good dietary habits and a favorable BMI proved to be the most avid readers of the web-based campaigns. Despite the overall low participant engagement frequency, it is clear that web-based educational campaigns are more appealing to workers with sedentary jobs and good dietary habits. This study provides valuable information on the potential effectiveness of appropriate workplace health promotion campaigns for SMEs and public health practices.
The aim of the paper is to discuss the importance of school (self-) evaluation capacity building within quality assurance system in education in Slovenia. The research is focused on self-evaluation ...training program in 245 educational institutions. The results demonstrate its importance and pinpoints several challenges, i.e.: “how to build organizational (leaders’) evaluation capacity”, “learning transfer in practice”, and “how to choose among various evaluation capacity building strategies”. Building upon empirical findings, the paper suggests that the training as a sole strategy for capacity building does not suffice in the competitive, quality-driven educational context. Correspondingly, the model of self-evaluation capacity building for schools is presented and discussed.
Workplace health promotion programmes (WHPPs) are among the most important measures to improve the health and motivation of the ageing workforce. However, they are accompanied with certain ...challenges, such as low participation rates and higher participation levels of the more health-conscious workers, often failing to engage those who need such interventions the most. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this scoping review examined participation rates reported in articles on WHPPs to identify potential knowledge gaps. The results are worrying: participation rates are not only infrequently reported, but also low. Of the 58 articles, 37 report participation rates, with the majority (20) reporting an average participation rate of less than 50%. Reported participation rates refer either to different target groups, the type of intervention, or to single points in time, which makes it difficult to establish consistent criteria for comparison. We argue that despite the importance of WHPP efficacy, research focus should shift to the determinants of participation, as well as the issue of standardising the reporting of participation rates, alongside the potential problem of reporting bias.
Staranje prebivalstva kot neizogibna posledica družbenih sprememb postavlja pred družbene akterje nove, drugačne izzive. S podaljševanjem delovne dobe naraščajo potrebe po vlaganjih v človeški ...kapital delovno aktivnih starejših, za ohranitev njihove zaposljivosti kot tudi učinkovitosti. Z globalizacijo in informacijskotehnološko povezanostjo na vseh področjih se kot vse bolj nujna spretnost poudarja znanje tujih jezikov delovno aktivnih starejših. Tako je pomembno tudi poznavanje njihovih motivov za učenje. Z raziskavo v jezikovnih šolah ugotavljamo, da se motivacija za učenje tujih jezikov med mladimi in starejšimi statistično značilno razlikuje. Delodajalci kot tudi jezikovne šole pa naj bi s spremembami sedanjih praks ustvarjali nove možnosti za osvojitev te spretnosti.
Premature death, chronic disease, and productivity loss can be reduced with the help of programs that promote a healthy lifestyle. Workplace health promotion programs have been shown to be an ...efficient way of improving employee health. These can also benefit employers by improving retention, reducing worker turnover, and lowering healthcare costs. In Slovenia, a workplace health promotion program called "STAR-VITAL-Joint Measures for the Vitality of Older Workers" targeting small- and medium-sized enterprises has been ongoing since September 2017. We hypothesize that this workplace health promotion program will yield long-term health changes for the included employees and employers.
The manuscript presents a workplace health promotion program design that introduces some novel approaches and solutions to workplace health promotion program implementation. It also introduces a measurement of their effects that address the problem of low participation rates and the effectiveness of workplace health promotion programs, as follows: (1) the multifaceted and individualised approach to implementation, (2) customer relationship management (CRM) -based interaction management with program participants, and (3) impact evaluation based on employee health and labour market data observing both intermediate outcomes and the final outcomes based on national micro administrative data.
Although the novel approaches introduced with the STAR-VITAL program proved to be effective during the COVID-19 pandemic, they deserve the attention of scholars and practitioners. Further research is called for to further explore the potential of CRM in health promotion contexts, the effectiveness of multifaceted and individualised workplace health promotion program interventions, and micro administrative data-based impact evaluations.
The STAR-VITAL program introduces several new approaches addressing the problem of low participation rates and the effectiveness of WHPPs. Further research is called for to discover and explore the potential of those novel approaches.
Several pedagogical assets of the blended‐learning courses conducted within the ADRIART.net partnership originate from their novel site‐specific approach and intercultural value. Conducted outside ...school environments across Austria, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia in 2011–2014, over a dozen of these intensive Master's programme workshops mixed students and mentors from different cultural and professional backgrounds, intersecting the realms of film, new media, photography, performance, architecture and contemporary art. These short‐term academic mobility courses concluded with public exhibitions, screenings or performances, often at eminent cultural venues or in public spaces pertaining to the site‐specific character of each course. This article discusses key issues that proved beneficial for conceiving and implementing this fruitful academic collaboration format. Several curricular and organisational solutions are presented that increased the positive impact on students as well as other stakeholders in this project‐based pedagogical piloting of the Media Arts and Practices international Master's programme. Set against its curriculum‐development framework, the article examines new methodological solutions, joint mentoring models and group dynamics management, as well as some specific logistical issues. Next to developing relevant employment skills and attitudes, such production‐oriented, but process‐aware course designs offer timely academic provisions as a response to a ‘glocalised’ world. More importantly, these course designs can also foster students' engagement with the actual (social, economic, natural, political) environment and the development of life‐long learning habits.
Purpose: The paper presents a new concept of somewhat extreme open innovation which focuses on mastering the front end of innovation and technology is based on a collaborative working environment ...that helps mainly small- and medium-sized enterprises to attain the knowledge, skills, and culture required to master the front end of innovation. The concept is a sort of "umbrella methodology", a well-defined set of procedures which can be simultaneously adapted to the particular innovation challenge, wherein various methods for problem identification and idea creation can be applied, depending on a company’s needs. It is based on the proactive involvement of the company's employees, supported by an appropriate methodology and external experts via a mix of face-to-face and online activities.
Methodology: The methodology is based on a collaborative working system (CWS) and learning management system (LMS) principles that help SMEs attain the knowledge, skills, and culture required to master FEI. We also argue that CWS is an efficient approach for addressing SMEs’ inherent limitations related to managing innovation process in open innovation (OI) modus operandi. Additionally, the concept also tackles configurations of organizational settings related to innovation.
Main Findings: Within the pilot study, positive results were observed regarding the direct innovation result, as well as sustainability. Moreover, it was observed that the presented concept had a positive effect on culture and climate-related to the whole innovation and technology process.
Implications/Applications: eMIPS has some important advantages. The first is a clear focus on the very first phase of the innovation and technology process, the problem/opportunity phase. By using a flexible methodology, various problems can be addressed. Since the eMIPS concept uses a distance working platform, its additional advantage is related to fostering the OI paradigm, CWS, and LMS, which have significant potential for SMEs. The complementary benefits are related to the organizational aspects of FEI and positive effects on innovation culture.
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