Is burnout a mediator between psychosocial work environment and perceived quality of care provided in healthcare professionals? A prospective 1-year follow-up study.

内容摘要

To examine if the associations between psychosocial work environment factors and perceived quality of care provided by healthcare professionals are mediated by burnout, and if there are variations in this mediation across healthcare professions. This cohort study utilized two-wave panel data (2022 & 2023) from the Longitudinal Occupational Health Survey for Healthcare Sweden, involving an analytical sample of 4132 Swedish healthcare professionals (1649 physicians, 1631 registered nurses, and 852 nurse assistants). Psychosocial work factors (quantitative and emotional demands, illegitimate work tasks, job control, and social support), along with burnout complaints, were measured with validated scales; perceived quality of care provided was self-reported. Each measurement was on a 1-5 scale. Path modeling tested mediation while adjusting for demographic covariates. All psychosocial work factors and burnout complaints showed a direct effect on healthcare professionals' perceived quality of care provided, although the effect from managerial support did not reach statistical significance. Job control was associated with perceived quality of care provided both directly and indirectly through burnout complaints across all professions. Profession-specific patterns also emerged, with illegitimate work tasks among physicians and quantitative demands among registered nurses showing direct and indirect effects (Physicians, unstandardized beta coefficient [b] = -0.045, 95% Confidence interval [CI] [-0.061; -0.029]; Registered nurses, b = -0.037, 95% CI [-0.051; -0.023]). Psychosocial work factors and burnout complaints are closely associated with perceived quality of care provided, with control at work standing out as a key factor for improvement across various healthcare professions. Strengthening control and addressing profession-specific demands alongside general workplace interventions may help improve perceived quality of care provided.