Influence of the work environment on patient safety and stress among healthcare professionals

Abstract

Healthcare professionals, due to direct contact with patients, may face physical and psychological suffering. Therefore, institutions must ensure healthy environments for professionals and patients. Objective: To classify the work environment and evaluate if healthy work environments provide greater safety climate for the patient and a lower level of professional stress. Method: Quantitative, cross-sectional, and correlational study, carried out with 110 health professionals from a public hospital. The following instruments were applied: Healthy Work Environment Assessment Tool, the “Safety Climate” subscale of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire - Short Form 2006, and the Work Stress Scale. Results: In the environment evaluation, the total score obtained was 3.10 ± 0.70 points. The correlations between the domains of the environment assessment tool and the safety climate were positive and significant, and for work stress, they were negative and significant. Conclusion: This study classified the work environment as “Good” and healthy work environments provide a greater sensation of patient safety and a lower level of professional stress.