Associations of work characteristics, employee strain and self-perceived quality of care in Emergency Departments: A cross-sectional study

- Perceived adverse ED work characteristics are associated with increased employee strain.
- Perceived overload, understaffing and supervisory support were associated to increased strain
- Moreover, perceived adverse ED work conditions were detrimental to perceived care quality.

BackgroundThe individual and shared effects of adverse work characteristics on patient care in Emergency Departments (ED) are yet not well understood. We investigated the associations of self-reported ED work characteristics, work-related strain, and perceived quality of care.MethodsQuestionnaire-based survey with standardized measures among N = 53 ED professionals (i.e., nurses, physicians, and administration staff). The study was conducted in the interdisciplinary ED of a German community hospital.ResultsA high prevalence of work-related strain was observed: 66.0% of ED professionals showed high levels of emotional exhaustion and 55.6% showed irritation scores above the cut-off value. ED staff reported high supervisor support and autonomy, paired with high time pressure and patient-related stressors. Multivariate analyses revealed that high time pressure and low supervisor support were associated with high work-related strain. Low staffing was related to inferior quality of ED care.ConclusionsED work systems involve high competing demands for ED professionals with substantial risks for work-related strain. Moreover, adverse ED work characteristics comprise risks for high quality patient care. Our results suggest that promoting work characteristics might foster ED staff functioning on the job as well as improve ED patient care.