Impact of social capital and perceived empowerment on burnout in health employees: A study in the shadow of the COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Social capital is an important resource that enables employees to build trust-based relationships with other individuals and groups in the workplace. Although the evidence reveals the effect of employee empowerment on burnout, the moderator role of social capital in this relationship is still unexplored. However, considering the health employees who have mental health problems and increased dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 epidemic, the importance of determining the antecedent factors that may affect burnout plays an even more critical role. OBJECTIVE: The effect of the epidemic process on the burnout level of health employees was examined. In addition, the effect of employee empowerment on burnout was examined and the moderate role of social capital was evaluated. METHODS: A total of 492 health employee completed the measures of social capital, perceived empowerment, and burnout. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the moderate variable. Dawson slope were used to visualize the results. RESULTS: The burnout levels of health employees were low (2.00±1.34). Social capital had a moderating effect on the negative effect of employee empowerment on burnout (ß= 0.191). Apart from that, employee empowerment (ß= -0.192) and social capital (ß= -0.508) were negatively associated with burnout level (p < 0.05). CONLUSION: These results are expected to provide useful recommendations to management in the health sector to reduce burnout among health employees by focusing on social capital and employee empowerment.

The moderating role of paternalistic leadership in the relationship between job satisfaction and job stress among health workers in Gaziantep, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Adopting an effective leadership style is of critical importance in increasing healthcare efficiency and therefore determining patient satisfaction. For example, although there are many new and effective leadership types today, the paternalistic leadership approach can still play an effective role in developing countries. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine the moderating role of paternalistic leadership in the relationship between job satisfaction and job stress. METHODS: A total of 466 healthcare workers completed measures of perceived paternalistic leadership, job stress, and job satisfaction. The research was conducted in the center of Gaziantep, one of the largest cities in Turkey. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the moderate variable. Dawson slope were used to visualize the results. RESULTS: A negative relationship was found between job satisfaction and job stress. Additionally, it has been determined that the perception of paternalistic leadership has a moderating role. It has been observed that as the perception of paternalistic leadership increases, the negative relationship between job satisfaction and job stress decreases. CONCLUSION: It has been concluded that the paternalistic leadership approach can play a critical role in increasing the productivity of healthcare workers and reducing the negative effect of stress on satisfaction. It has been suggested that policies be developed to develop appropriate strategies for creating work environments that will increase employees' perceptions of paternalistic leadership.

The Relationship among Patient Satisfaction, Patient Loyalty, and Compliance with Treatment.

This study examined the relationship between patient loyalty and adherence to treatment and evaluated the mediating role of patient satisfaction in this relationship. This study consisted of 386 participants. Correlation and regression analyses were used. A low level of positive correlation was found between loyalty and compliance scores. It was determined that satisfaction did not mediate the relationship between loyalty and compliance. In addition, a moderately positive relationship was found between loyalty and satisfaction. It has been observed that patient loyalty can play a critical role in important health outcomes such as adherence to treatment and increasing satisfaction.

The effects of organizational silence on work engagement, intention to leave and job performance levels of nurses.

BACKGROUND: Reducing the level of organizational silence can play an important role in the work-related decisions of nurses. However, to date a comprehensive study investigating the effect of organizational silence on work engagement, intention to leave, and job performance levels of nurses has yet to be conducted. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explain the effect of organizational silence on work engagement, intention to leave, and job performance of nurses. METHODS: The sample of the study consisted of 224 nurses. The Organizational Silence Scale, the Job Performance Scale, the Intention to Leave Scale, and the Work Engagement Scale were used to collect data in this study and the Pearson correlation test and regression tests were used in the data analysis. RESULTS: It was observed that organizational silence was negatively correlated with job performance (r = -0.455) and work engagement (r = -0.242), and positively correlated with intention to leave (r = 0.440) (p < 0.01). Regression analysis also illustrated that dimensions of organizational silence have a significant effect on job performance, intention to leave, and work engagement. CONCLUSION: A decrease in the organizational silence level of nurses is effective in decreasing intention to leave and increasing work engagement and job performance levels. Nurses should be able to express their opinions clearly towards other healthcare professionals and management and management should provide this working environment for nurses. To increase work engagement and job performance levels and decrease intention to leave, meetings and educational programs that reduce organizational silence might be developed at an organizational level by management.

Fear of COVID-19 and Its Association With Health Literacy in Elderly Patients.

One of the groups most negatively affected by the epidemic process has been the elderly patients. In this process, it is of great importance to determine the fear levels of the patients and to evaluate the factors that may be related. With this approach, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and health literacy scores of elderly patients living in Kahramanmaras City, Turkey. Another aim of the study was to investigate whether the participants' COVID-19 fear change according to various socio-demographic characteristics. The convenience sampling method were used and 266 of valid samples were collected. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, simple and multiple linear regression analysis techniques were used. The results obtained from the study showed that COVID-19 fear status of the participants were moderate while the health literacy scores were low. Higher health literacy was associated with lower fear of COVID-19. In addition, it was determined that the fear of COVID-19 showed statistically significant differences according to education level, insurance status, smoking status, follow the news status and marital status. As a result, it has been observed that the level of health literacy can be effective in protecting elderly patients from fear. Longitudinal studies have been proposed to determine whether this relationship is causal or not.

Why Does Patient-Physician Communication Matter? More Active Patients, Decreased Healthcare Use and Costs.

Today, the increase in the use of emergency health services is one of the most discussed issues. Solutions are sought to reduce the use of unnecessary resources. One of these solutions can be patient-physician communication. Along with this approach, the relationships between patient-physician communication, use of emergency health services, and length of hospital stay was evaluated in this study. In addition, the effect of communication with the physician on the patient activity level was also examined. A total of 724 patients (F/M 397/327, mean age 33.36 ± 15.22 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. "Pearson Correlation Test" and "Simple Linear Regression Test" were used to analyze the data. High communication between physician and patient were associated with higher levels of patient activation (r = 0.632; P < .01). Likewise, a negative correlation was found between patient-physician communication and emergency healthcare use (r = -0.712, P < .01) and length of hospital stay (r = -0.317, P < .01). We think that the positive development of patient-physician communication may be an important way to reduce the use of emergency health services. The findings obtained regarding the length of hospital stay support this result. In addition, it was concluded that good communication with the physician may be an important factor in patients taking a more active role in healthcare. Further research is suggested to examine whether the observed associations are causal.

Health Reforms in Turkey: The Impact on the Perceived Performance Levels of Health Staff.

In this study, the relationship between the levels of participation of hospital staff in health reforms and perceived performance levels were investigated. The data attained from 274 participants were evaluated. The level of participation of health professionals in health reforms was 3.23 and the level of perceived performance was found to be 3.91. When evaluated at the point that 5 represents the highest level, these average scores may be indicative of moderate performance and participation in reforms. It was concluded that there is a relationship between the level of participation in health reforms and performance (r = 0.563, p < 0.01).

Does illness perception associate with disease symptoms in Behçet's disease?

This study aims to assess the relationship between illness perception and disease course and symptoms in Behçet disease (BD). One hundred ten consecutive BD patients (F/M 50/60, mean age 38.5 ± 9.88 years) and 57 patients with Psoriasis as a disease control group (F/M 28/29, mean age 48.12 ± 15.52) are included in this cross-sectional study. Illness perception is evaluated using a revised version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). In IPQ-R, the identity score reflecting the number of symptoms is higher in BD patients with musculoskeletal involvement than the others (6.77 ± 2.91 vs. 5.08 ± 3.3, respectively, p = 0.007). The consequences score for musculoskeletal involvement (19.52 ± 7.03) and timeline (acute/chronic) score for eye involvement (26.67 ± 4.32) are also higher compared to patients without them (16.37 ± 5.82 and 22.09 ± 8.68) (p = 0.011 and p = 0.038), reflecting negative beliefs about the illness. The score of psychological attribution is higher in patients with psoriasis than BD (p = 0.039), whereas the other subgroup scores are lower in patients with psoriasis compared to those of BD (p < 0.05). This study provides a patient's perspective in the disease management process of BD using the IPQ-R questionnaire. A patient's own personal beliefs and emotional responses to their symptoms might affect the outcome measures, especially with musculoskeletal symptoms and eye involvement in BD. However, psychological attribution is found to be a prominent issue in psoriasis.