OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS AND ITS EFFECTS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING
INTRODUCTION
Background information
In recent years, concerns have been raised over the increasing cases of the psychological problem among healthcare workers. Health care industry workers are among the most affected workers across the world; it has recorded the highest number of psychological complications among its workers as compared to employees in other industries. According to Adjaye-Gbewonyo (2017), about 2.18%, 1.93%, 7.58% and 3.14% of health care workers in Korea are suffering from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychiatric and sleep disorders respectively. The increasing number of psychological disorders among health care workers have triggered the need to consider their working environment to reduce psychological challenge among the workers. The condition of employees’ working environment is one of the key determinants of productivity and psychological well-being of the employees. Under a suitable working environment, employees are relieved of many stresses that eventually affect their mental health conditions. Therefore, the working environment of health facilities plays a vital role in Employees’ productivity and their psychological wellbeing. Various health facilities have been focusing on ways of promoting occupational and patient safety as a way of improving the working environment of health care workers. Occupational safety is one of the main challenges facing hospitals today, healthcare workers are exposed to various risks which may eventually affect their productivity and mental health.
Healthcare organizations are encouraged to embrace a culture of safety in health settings as a way of ensuring that employees’ environment is well maintained and the interest of healthcare workers is protected. Besides the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers, the working environment also determines the quality of care offered in hospitals which is the ultimate goal for every healthcare facility. Therefore, having a favorable working environment will not only protect the workers but also meet customer demands and give the hospital a reputation.
As mentioned earlier, occupational and patient safety is one of the main aspects of a favorable working environment for healthcare workers. Safety is best enhanced by developing safety in hospitals and various health organizations. According to Trinchero et al. (2019), Safety culture can be defined as the product of the group and individual attitude, competencies, values, patterns of behaviors and perception that determine the commitment to health and safety management of an organization. With shared perception and mutual trust among employees, an organization is destined to achieve its safety management goals. Occupational safety is associated with workplace health which directly influences the workers’ mental state of mind
Over the past years, the nature of hospitals has changed significantly due to the constantly growing technology. Because of the current dynamics in the health sector, healthcare professionals are faced with challenges associated with diversities in psychosocial working conditions. Numerous changes have been witnessed in modern hospitals including increasing task complexity and workload and skills imbalance. Furthermore, cases of chronic diseases and multimorbidity are gradually becoming high necessitating the need for more advanced hospital-based patient care. The constantly changing nature of diseases has posed serious challenges to healthcare professionals who have found it difficult to adjust to the new working environment. The health care workers’ adaptation to the dynamics in health care settings is an issue of concern since most health professionals are finding it difficult to cope with the current state of the environment. These problems have caused stress among the workers thus destabilizing their mental state of mind and affecting their psychological wellbeing. Studies have indicated a possible relationship between the working environment of health workers and their psychological well-being. Many scientists believe that working under unfavorable conditions may affect the mental health conditions of workers particularly health care workers.
According to a study conducted in 2015, the majority of healthcare workers spend much of their working time in healthcare settings. Therefore, they have a higher possibility of being affected by environmental conditions; the working environment can impact the health and wellbeing of health care workers (Everett et al., 2015). Anything that affects the health and wellbeing of an individual has the potential of causing psychological complications. According to the World Health Organization, health refers to the state of mental, physical, and social wellbeing and not mere nonexistence of disease and infinity. Psychological wellbeing is a crucial determinant of a healthy person. The wellbeing of an individual depends on internal and external factors such as the social, environmental, cultural, political aspects of life that people go through in their lifetime. From an environmental perspective, Collado et al. (2017) define a healthy environment as the conditions and surroundings that provide an opportunity and means to achieve mental and physical wellbeing. A healthy environment is one that does not harm the people in the surrounding.
Numerous studies carried out in the past have supported the claim that a person’s work, play, and lives could influence his or her psychological and physical well-being. Some researchers have also argued that physical environmental factors and psychological factors can affect the wellbeing and health of it, users and occupants. The evidence shows that an employees’ working environment especially the healthcare working environment can affect their psychological well-being. Therefore, the working environment should be taken into consideration when setting up a work station to ensures that the conditions are favorable for the workers.
According to Balk-Møller et al. (2017), people spend a better part of their day in their workplace, an indication that workplace challenges can greatly affect the workers. The long hours spent in the working environment has prompted the need to consider the effect of workplace on the workers’ health and well-being and how the workers’ perceived wellbeing and physical work environment eventually affect the employees’ performance and productivity. Another research conducted in 2017 indicated that the majority of workers spend more than a third of their day at work with a bigger number also working at home. Hence, having a healthy working is vital for the physical and mental wellbeing of employees. According to WHO, a healthy workplace refers to a workplace where workers and managers collaborate to improve the health, wellbeing, and safety of all workers and to sustain the business productivity. Based on this definition, there are three main aspects of a healthy workplace that is safety, health, and wellbeing. A healthy workplace is one that has physically, emotionally, and mentally favorable environmental conditions. The management team should be quick at responding to the occupational, environmental, and social and safety concerns raised by workers. The employees are likely to develop stress and anxiety when their concerns are not addressed properly or there is a delay in response.
In a healthcare setup, the workplace environment is believed to require more attention due to its delicate nature. Even though every workplace requires environmentally friendly, a case of a healthy working environment needs special attention because workers deal with lives; any small mistake made healthcare providers may lead to an ultimate loss of life. The employees deal will delicate clients that must handle great care and a high level of personal and professional skills. Some doctors get so much hurt when a patient dies under their watch. A doctor may be committed to seeing a patient recover from a certain health condition failure to which the doctor may feel very disappointed. The continuous disappointments are what may lead to depression thus destabilizing the workers’ mental state of mind and eventually causing mental health conditions. Besides the patients’ conditions, several heartbreaking stories can ultimately affect healthcare workers if not handled appropriately. A recent study has revealed that healthcare workers are quitting their at a slightly higher rate as compared to other professions, this is an indication that employees in the health sector are most likely faced with many challenges as compared to other professions. The research conducted in 2014 showed that about 17.5 percent of the registered nurse in the United States had quitted their jobs due to various reasons ranging from poor salary pay to unfavorable working environments (Asare, 2019). The majority of nurses have also complained of continued frustrations caused by tough working conditions and low pay in health facilities. No one may have the gut to criticize nurses for quitting their jobs because the majority are aware of the tough working conditions that most medics go through in line with services. The level of risk in a health setting is very high especially in a situation where the healthcare workers are dealing with patients who are suffering from highly contiguous diseases like tuberculosis and the common cold.
A perfect example is the recent outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has led to the infection of about 6 million people and the death of 400,000 people across the globe. COVID 19 whose first case was reported in December 2019, has spread in nearly all countries across the world (Nannyonga et al., 2020). The worst-hit countries across the globe include The United States, Italy, The United Kingdom, and other countries. Considering the coronavirus transmission mode, the health workers are the most affected group; they have a high risk of contracting the disease when handling patients with the coronavirus especially when doing so unknowingly. According to research conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 9000 healthcare workers have been infected by healthcare workers across the United States. The infection rate among healthcare workers has raised concerns across the world; healthcare professional organizations have raised an alarm over the government failed to provide adequate and appropriate protective equipment to protect healthcare workers from contracting the deadly coronavirus. Nurses across have threatened to quit their jobs if no appropriate measures are taken by the government to eliminate the contraction of COVID-19 in line of duty. A recent survey conducted by DailyMailTV has shown that three out of five nurses are willing to leave their jobs if no proper action is taken by governments in protection; that is about 60 percent of the total nursing people. The Coronavirus disease case is an illustration of what health workers go through as they offer services to the people. Individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 are at a higher risk of developing mental health diseases because of the psychological torture that they undergo and anxiety over possible infections. Most healthcare workers particularly the ones who lack proper protective gear are stressed over their higher possibility of being infected with the deadly coronavirus. On May 13th, 2020, a French club doctor called Gonzalez was reported to have committed suicide after he was diagnosed by the deadly Coronavirus. One of the major causes of suicide in the history of mental health complications especially depression. Therefore, healthcare workers committing suicide after being affected by COVID-19 is a clear indication that they are psychologically affected by the harsh working environment they are being exposed to during this global pandemic.
Numerous studies have indicated that job stress is one of the major causes of mental disorders among healthcare workers. Job stress also exposes workers to other health risks such as the development of cardiovascular diseases and heart-related problems. Researchers across the world have developed a keen interest in workplace stress among healthcare workers due to the rising cases of mental health problems among them. Closes analysis of past studies on the issue of workplace stress have revealed common problems faced by most workers that eventually interfered with their psychological wellbeing. Common challenges facing healthcare workers have been associated with the poor working condition and poor remuneration of health professionals. The increased mistreatment among healthcare workers has not only led to low self-esteem among the workers but it has also reduced their productivity. According to Kula (2017), some of the possible effects of workplace stress include the following: lowering self-esteem and job satisfaction, reducing work performance, negatively affecting employees’ health, and increasing the risk of absenteeism. The author also revealed that poor quality physical environment of healthcare workers has a huge effect on their mental wellbeing; people working in substandard healthcare facilities are more likely to be depressed as compared to individuals working in a well-maintained environment. Depending on the conditions of the working environment, experiences at the workplace can evolve to have either positive or negative impact on the employees; workplace experiences can reflect on the energy level, enthusiasm, and excitement or, anger, disgust, and depression of workers. According to the study outcome, the environmental working condition determines whether employees will be affected negatively or positively and it is directly proportional to their output. Poor working conditions affect workers negatively and reduce their performance while favorable working conditions positively impact workers thus improving and improve their performance. For instance, individuals exposed to environmental stressors such as air pollution, noise, crowding are in the state of “learned helplessness”, a condition that affects both children and adults. Learned helplessness can be defined as the state that occurs to an individual after being in a stressful situation for a long time or repeated number of times. The person comes to believe that he cannot change or control the situation, so he or she does not even try changing the situation even if an opportunity is availed. Learned helplessness status significantly affects employees’ performance regardless of the efforts to improve the situation. The psychosocial and physical aspects of work are known to have a significant long term effect on employees if not controlled. In addition to that, other studies have indicated that various elements of the physical environment have a direct impact on workers’ state of health and their psychological wellbeing.
Apart from discussing the impact of an unhealthy working environment on employees, it is also important to consider factors that contribute to an unhealthy environment. When the sources of the unhealthy workplace are controlled, most workplace conditions will improve significantly thus increasing workers’ productivity and reducing psychological related challenges. Numerous psychosocial studies conducted on the causes of an unhealthy working environment have indicated various sources of employees’ stresses including workload, lack of motivation, inability to cope with changes, role conflicts, and job satisfaction. WHO has associated several workplace health issues with the increasing level of psychological problems. An investigation by WHO further indicated that about 160 million new cases of illness related to the workplace are recorded yearly across the world. Approximately 8 percent of cases resulting from depression is believed to be associated with occupational risks. Another study conducted by European Agency on health and safety among the employees in the United States has shown that the majority of healthcare workers in the USA are at a higher risk of developing psychological distress (Green et al., 2019). A study that captured a total of 60, 000 workers across the nation showed that 4.5 percent of the participants were prevalence to mental disorders.
Several studies suggesting a close relationship between the working environment of healthcare workers and psychological wellbeing. The topic has continued to receive much attention worldwide at both occupational and organization. Mental health problems have also been on the rise over recent years, something that has continued to raise concerns over the possible cause of the rising numbers of mental health cases, especially among the workers. More studies are still being conducted over the issue as the number of mentally ill patient continue to rise. Besides the relationship between working conditions and psychological wellbeing, other complexities are associated with the transaction between the environment and its occupants. One of the complexity is the personality, characteristics, and behavior of an individual. The personalities and characteristics of an individual operating in a given environment will determine how a person will perceive the environment. People have different views of life; what a person perceives as the perfect environmental condition may not necessarily be good to another person. The perception of healthcare workers towards their working environment is an issue of concern, some workers are generally positive about their work and are ready to work under different conditions; this group of people could be much affected by the prevailing conditions. On the other hand, individuals who have a negative attitude towards their work are most likely to be affected by the working environment. Occupant satisfaction is considered intangible because of its general nature. Occupant satisfaction has an impact on perceived health and wellbeing, particularly psychological wellbeing. According to Coyne (2017), a worker who is satisfied with his or her work is less exposed to stress as compared to one who is unsatisfied with the job. Therefore, job satisfaction should equally be considered when discussing the correlation between the working environment of healthcare workers and the impact it has on psychological wellbeing.
Currently, researchers are using different techniques to acquire more information regarding the workers’ health and it influences their psychological wellbeing and performance. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques have been used to find out specific possibilities between health manifestations and environmental satisfaction. In the field of health and occupational studies, more focus has been diverted to quantitative research techniques. A qualitative study approach was preferred for the design. For this study, the use of either a qualitative or quantitative approach alone was found to be insufficient in meeting the study objectives. Quantitative research could be effective in quantifying the health workers’ problems associated with the working environment and generating data that could be changed into usable statistics. However, the approach lacked standardized study methods of universal nature. After considering research fields dealing with the health of workers about the working environments, this research adopted both quantitative and qualitative techniques also known as a mixed-method approach. The research techniques were aimed at investigating the impact of the work environment on the psychological wellbeing of health workers. The paper focused on physical work environment factors that are associated with workers’ satisfaction and their effect on health and psychological wellbeing. To achieve the purpose of this study, the participants’ experiences in work environments were explored as they transferred from desperate workplaces into a new better facility.
Research Aim and Objectives
As has been mentioned in the previous section, a past study has shown a close relationship between the physical elements of workers’ work environment and various aspects of the health and wellbeing of the occupants. Different surveys carried out on the work environment have focused on environmental satisfaction and features of the environment and how these factors eventually affect the health and the wellbeing of the workers. The study uses a mixed-method approach to explore the connection between healthcare workers working environmental and psychological wellbeing of workers. Human aspects in design research and built environments are perceived based on psychological, social, and physical interaction within the healthcare environment. From the environmental point of view, different elements of the environment define occupant satisfaction. The physical work environment plays a crucial role in determining how people perceive the general environmental conditions and outcomes of the health and wellbeing of workers. Empirical evidence based on past studies has opened the chapter on the need to conduct further investigation on the possible effect of physical work environment characteristics on the psychological wellbeing of workers. This study will focus on the healthcare work environment and how it affects healthcare workers such as nurses, psychiatrists, doctors, and clinicians.
Previous studies carried out on the psychological wellbeing of health workers and possible interventions have not focused on various design solutions that could be used to explore the correlation between the working environment and employees’ psychological wellbeing. In addition to that, a lot has not been done regarding the relationship between psychosocial stress and mental disorders among workers operating within the work environment. Therefore, an investigation using various research techniques that improve understanding of the correlation between work environment and psychological wellbeing of workers was essential to determine the impact that the work environment has on the health and wellbeing of workers.
Main objective
The main objective of the study was to investigate the correlation between the physical work environments of healthcare workers and their psychological wellbeing. The study aimed at establishing whether environmental satisfaction and work environment vary when different environmental features are taken into consideration and to find out whether various environmental features are directly or indirectly related to the outcome of the psychological wellbeing of workers. The study focused on an investigation of specific interaction processes between the healthcare workers and their work environment and whether such processes are sufficient in determining the health and psychological wellbeing of employees. When exploring the scope of psychological wellbeing and healthcare workers’ interaction with the physical environment, it was important to consider how the employees perceive psychological wellbeing through their physical and mental understanding of health. It was also important to consider the characteristics of the physical environment and possible physical environmental factors that may have an impact on employees’ satisfaction. The words “healthcare workers” and “employees” have been used interchangeably in this research paper.
Specific Objectives
The specific objective of the study is as follows:
- To find out the existing environmental elements and factors in a healthcare work environment that are understood by healthcare workers to have an impact on their satisfactory outcome and ultimately impact their psychological wellbeing.
- To determine the health status of healthcare workers in terms of mental health and the perceived impact of physical environmental factors on psychological wellbeing.
- To conduct a qualitative study to find out how employees perceive their physical work environment about their psychological wellbeing.
Nature of the study
The study used a mixed-method approach to conduct both statistical and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Through quantitative and qualitative research, a practical solution-based approach was applied as a response tool for complex research questions. According to past research, a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods was best suited for this study because it creates a platform for capturing complexities encountered in the research and contextualizing them (Merriam and Grenier, 2019. In addition to that, the use of qualitative and quantitative methods assist in gaining a better understanding of the workplace stressors that could affect healthcare workers and process of stress; the mixed approach provided a better inquiry understanding. Healthcare workers’ experience in the work environment was essential in determining how the workers react to various physical environmental conditions in their workplace. A qualitative research approach was used to retrieve information on workers’ experience and challenges that workers underline in line of duty. The study was also targeted at distinguishing various psychical environmental conditions and to that, the research captured health workers’ transition from the existing places of work to new work premises with totally different features. The environmental transition was in enhancing a better understanding of various elements of physical environments and how these factors impact the psychological wellbeing of workers. A large healthcare organization that had plans to transfer its employees to a new health facility was considered for the study was considered for the survey. The sample used in the study was selected from the organization.
The study participants were surveyed in two phases. The first phase involved surveying health workers based on the exiting physical environmental conditions and the second phase involve health workers survey based on the new working environment with a completely different physical environmental condition. Two working environments were considered for the study; that is the healthcare work environment and the non-healthcare work environment. The healthcare workers who participated in the study were asked to give their views on their existing work environment and their views if they would be allowed to change their work environment by changing the healthcare profession. It was assumed that the two working environments have completely two different work set up and physical environmental conditions.
Survey interviewing and questionnaires were used in gathering data regarding the views of healthcare workers on their work environment and their psychological wellbeing. The study seeks to get information on the mental health diseases among the respondents and how much the employees were willing to quit the health profession for another profession. The study also explored the workers’ perception of the relationship between their work environment and psychological wellbeing. The questionnaire data collection method was used because it was effective in accessing information from a large group of healthcare workers with a wide range of work experience between 4 years and 38 years. The questionnaire was also essential in asking the health workers questions regarding the idea of changing their profession if they had the opportunity to do so and their views on the current work environment. The questionnaire was also used for sample identification for qualitative research. Survey interviewing was carried out to explore healthcare workers’ experience and to examine the questionnaire findings. The data collection methods used provided a better understanding of the perceived impact of the healthcare work environment on the psychological wellbeing of employees. A survey interview was also undertaken to investigate employees’ experience associated with the physical healthcare work environment and their perception of psychological wellbeing. Precisely, this study was based on experiential and self-rated exploration and all the factors related to health workers’ perception were considered in the study.
Research Questions and Hypothesis
The research questions were formulates based on the objectives of the study. The purpose of formulating the questions was to give clear guidelines on how the study should be conducted. The research questions were answered by testing the hypothesis.
Research question
Is there a correlation between the work environment of healthcare workers and their psychological wellbeing as measured by perceived wellness survey carried out among healthcare workers with work experience ranging between 4 and 38 years?
Null Hypothesis
There is no correlation between the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers as measured by perceived psychological wellness survey, and the healthcare work environment.
Alternative Hypothesis
There is a significant correlation between the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers as measured by perceived psychological wellness survey, and the healthcare work environment
Scope and Significance of the study.
In recent years, technology in the health sector has developed significantly. Various changes have been noted in the health care environment particularly in regards to the physical environment and development of new health conditions. The technological development has completely changed the face of healthcare environments. In addition to that, the number of mental health diseases and chronic diseases has risen in past decades over what is believed to be caused by technological advancement and climate change. The constantly changing healthcare environment is believed to be the main cause of increasing mental health conditions among healthcare workers. Employees in the health sector are having problems in coping with constantly changing healthcare work environment and the increasing customer demand. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the relationship between the work environment of healthcare workers and their psychological wellbeing to reduce the rising cases of mental diseases among healthcare workers and to equip them with techniques of handling current and future environmental-related challenges.
The issue of the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers has continued to raise concerns following the increasing number of mental fatigue, chronic illness, and physical illness in health facilities. Some psychosocial factors in hospital environment have been associated with epidemiological issues and depression that is believed to be the backbone of the rising psychological related challenges among health workers. This is an indication that the work environment can make people develop mental health problems. Anything that affects the wellbeing of a worker has the capacity to limiting his or her productivity because it interferes with the outcomes based on physical and psychological domains, environmental, and social domains. Despite the past numerous studies on the impact of work environment on the health and wellbeing of workers, little has been done on the limitations and strengths of the healthcare work environment and its impact on the employees’ health and wellbeing. There are also gaps in remedies that ought to be taken in protecting healthcare workers against mental related challenges.
A considerable study carried out in the work environment has shown that the physical environment is associated with employees’ stress, productivity, and satisfaction. Even though past studies have revealed that people’s environmental experience ultimately affects their health and wellbeing, (Scannell and Gifford, 2017) believe that a lot still needs to be done on the areas to a certain the correlation between the two. Some aspects of healthcare workers’ experience of the physical working environment have been well understood, several other elements need further study particularly the influence of the work environment in the psychological wellbeing of the employees. Again it is also important to note that the technological advancement in the health sector has brought numerous changes in various health facilities that have promoted the need to conduct further investigation to suit the current state of health facilities and to control the constantly increasing mental disorders among healthcare workers. This research paper seeks to address the connection between the workers’ psychological wellbeing and their work environment. By using a questionnaire and interviewing the workers, it becomes easier to gain a better understanding of the healthcare workers are likely to respond to their work environment and how their perception of the environment influences their wellbeing. This information is useful as it can help various health organizations have a better understanding of possible employees’ behaviors when exposed to a given healthcare work environment, the employers can gain an understanding of employees and better knowledge of handling workers and supporting them to adapt to their perceived harsh working environment. Various health organizations and health facilities must pay much attention to the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers, this will not only help in handling the numerous case psychological problems among the workers but it will also help in improving the performance of every employee and ensuring all workers meet the desired quality standards. Knowing the correlation between the two variables creates an opportunity for design implementation. It also allows the implementation of public health interventions which are essential in various scopes of healthcare systems.
The purpose of this study is to seek more information regarding the importance of the healthcare work environment in enhancing employees’ psychological wellbeing and perhaps improving their perception towards their work environment. The study outcome, a new universal occupational wellbeing, and environmental work satisfaction model provide substantial understanding and contextualization of the connection between healthcare work environment and psychological wellbeing of employees, ways through which healthcare workers interact with their physical environment and how healthcare workers perceive a correlation between work environment and psychological wellbeing.
Assumptions and Limitation of the study
Assumptions
Some of the assumptions made in the study include the following:
- It was assumed that all the respondents who participated in the study effectively answered questions regarding their current mental health conditions and the answers given were truthful and in the best interest of the research
- It was assumed that the willingness of respondents to participate in the study would not be associated with any kind biasness
- It was assumed that the type of data collection methods used in the study would be appropriate in gathering vital information from the participants without any form of interference and the study findings are applicable among the healthcare workers
Limitations
The limitations of the study include the following:
- The views, beliefs, and thoughts given by the respondents regarding the correlation between the work environment and psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers could be limited to their work environment and can be effectively applied in other health work environments. Therefore, the study findings may not be an effective reflection of the impact of work environment on the psychological wellbeing of workers
- The data used in the study are limited to responses from the survey participants and therefore generalization of study outcome should be done with a lot of caution.
- Because psychological wellbeing is a general term whose meaning may depend on an individual point of view, it was difficult to trust the views aired by the participants thus reducing the chances of research accuracy.
- The number of healthcare workers who participated in the study is too small as compared to the total number of healthcare workers in the region. Therefore, the study outcome might not be a better representation of healthcare care workers view regarding their work environment
Study Overview
Chapter 1 of this research paper discusses the overall introduction of the paper. The chapter presents the background information of the study, the problem statement, objectives and aims of the study, research questions and hypothesis, scope and significance of the study, and assumptions and limitations of the study. A brief overview of the study structure and approach is provided as well.
Chapter 2 present the literature review, it describes the extensive literature review concerning the physical healthcare work environment and its effect on the psychological wellbeing of healthcare workers. The literature includes the investigation of various aspects of psychological wellbeing, the association of physical health environment and psychological wellbeing of workers, and lastly, discussion of various environmental factors affecting the satisfaction of health workers operating within a given work environment. The chapter also highlighted some of the inquiries methods used in the study.
Chapter 3 focuses on the methodology of the study. The chapter describes how the mixed method approach rationale is used to gather crucial information from the healthcare workers who participated in the study. The chapter is keen on the participant selection process and collection and analysis of data. Various instruments used in the study elaborated particularly instruments used in the investigation of physical environmental factors as well as the effects of these factors on healthcare workers’ psychological wellbeing. The methodology used in the investigation of participants’ experience was also discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 4 presents the study results; that is both qualitative and quantitative findings. The chapter will describe the differences in self-reported perception and satisfaction of participants regarding the physical work environment in health facilities and the psychological wellbeing of health workers within the healthcare work environment and work environment in other professions. The chapter also presents findings on the perceived relationship between the physical environment and psychological wellbeing of health workers.
Chapter 5 presents the discussion, conclusion, and recommendations. The findings of the mixed-method approach are discussed in association with the study literature. The study results will be discussed and how different parameters in the study relate to each other. The chapter will also focus on the relationship between healthcare work environments and the psychological wellbeing of health workers. Conclusion and recommendations will be made based on the study outcomes and future research directions
Conclusion
Chapter one has provided background information regarding the research topic. An introduction to the thesis and research objective has been elaborated in this chapter particularly in response to the current and past research regarding in work environment of healthcare workers and their psychological wellbeing. The chapter has focused on the relationship between the physical work environment of healthcare workers and how the environment affects their psychological wellbeing. The mixed-method approach has been discussed briefly. An overview of mixed approach implementation has been provided and it is connected to the thesis structure. The chapter has also captured crucial sections of the research paper including the objective and purpose of the study, scope, and significance of the study, research questions, hypothesis, and limitations of the study.