A workplace organisational intervention to improve hospital nurses’ and physicians’ mental health: study protocol for the Magnet4Europe wait list cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionThe increasing burden of mental distress reported by healthcare professionals is a matter of serious concern and there is a growing recognition of the role of the workplace in creating this problem. Magnet hospitals, a model shown to attract and retain staff in US research, creates positive work environments that aim to support the well-being of healthcare professionals.Methods and analysisMagnet4Europe is a cluster randomised controlled trial, with wait list controls, designed to evaluate the effects of organisational redesign, based on the Magnet model, on nurses’ and physicians’ well-being in general acute care hospitals, using a multicomponent implementation strategy. The study will be conducted in more than 60 general acute care hospitals in Belgium, England, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. The primary outcome is burnout among nurses and physicians, assessed in longitudinal surveys of nurses and physicians at participating hospitals. Additional data will be collected from them on perceived work environments, patient safety and patient quality of care and will be triangulated with data from medical records, including case mix-adjusted in-hospital mortality. The process of implementation will be evaluated using qualitative data from focus group and key informant interviews.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Ethics Committee Research UZ/KU Leuven, Belgium; additionally, ethics approval is obtained in all other participating countries either through a central or decentral authority. Findings will be disseminated at conferences, through peer-reviewed manuscripts and via social media.Trial registration numberISRCTN10196901.

Magnet®-Krankenhäuser: Eine Chance für Deutschland?

“…Der bestehende Fachkräftemangel und der Wettbewerb um das verbleibende Personal stellen deutsche Krankenhäuser vor die immer größere Herausforderung, qualifiziertes Pflegepersonal zu gewinnen und zu halten (DKI 2019) Krankenhäuser sind darum angehalten, geeignete und nachhaltige Strategien zu finden, mit denen sie die klinische Arbeitsumgebung verbessern können, um von Pflegefachpersonen als attraktiver Arbeitsplatz wahrgenommen zu werden (Kroezen et al 2015;DKI 2019) In Deutschland haben sich 20 Krankenhäuser auf den Weg gemacht, das Magnet-Konzept zu implementieren (Maier et al 2022). Begleitet durch die Magnet4Europe-Studie sollen einerseits die Wirksamkeit des Magnet-Konzepts in europäischen Krankenhäusern evaluiert und andererseits mögliche Barrieren der Übertragbarkeit eines U.S.amerikanischen Konzepts auf Europa untersucht werden (Sermeus et al 2022).…”

“…Die Gesamtprojektleitung von Magnet4-Europe liegt bei Prof. Walter Sermeus (KU Leuven, Belgien) und Prof. Linda Aiken (University of Pennsylvania, USA). Deutscher Projektpartner im Magnet4Europe Projekt ist das Fachgebiet Management im Gesundheitswesen der TU Berlin (Sermeus et al 2022).…”

Creating healthy workplaces in healthcare: Are we delaying progress by focusing on what we can do rather than what we should do?

“…First, lack of engagement from employees was the most common reason for interventions failing; second, the majority of studies were from high-income countries; third, most of the studies targeted one type of healthcare workers (with nurses being the most common). Moreover, a further review of two recent papersa study protocol (18) and an intervention study (19)-indicates that these problems are continuing. These two recent papers demonstrate an understandable pragmatism toward funding what can be done rather that what should be done.…”

“…These two recent papers demonstrate an understandable pragmatism toward funding what can be done rather that what should be done. Firstly, the protocol refers to an organizational redesign intended as a system-level intervention, targeting the whole hospital on the level of the organization (18). However, while the intervention is multicomponent, it will only target the two major clinical professionsnurses and physicians.…”

Promoting evidence‐based practice and nursing excellence: How involvement in a Magnet4Europe® research study led to development of critically appraised topics sessions for health care staff

“…It is one of only 11 UK hospitals in England to be part of a Magnet4Europe ® research study (American Nurses Credentialing Center, 2022). Magnet ® designated hospitals seek to support organisational change, by providing a roadmap for advancing nursing excellence, promoting tools, skills and best practices to enhance knowledge mobilisation (Sermeus et al, 2022).…”