High hiring rate of nurses in Catalonia and the rest of Spain hides precarious employment from 2010 to 2019: a quantitative study

Working conditions in nursing in the face of Covid-19 from the perspective of precariousness

OBJECTIVE

To investigate working conditions in nursing when facing the Covid-19 pandemic, in light of aspects of precarious work.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study, with 131 nursing workers who worked against Covid-19 in hospitals in Alagoas State, Northeast Brazil. Data were collected online, using a workers' health assessment questionnaire. The Chi -Square or Fisher's Exact test and logistic regression were used.

RESULTS

among nursing workers, 71% had precarious contracts, 33.6% reported extended working hours and 23.7% were union members. In the multivariable analysis, having little hospital experience was a predictor for poor employment (OR= 2.408; 95%CI= 1.051-5.518). The predictor variables for lengthening the working day were being a nurse (OR= 3.824; 95%CI= 1.274-11.483); overtime (OR= 3.668; 95%CI= 1.009-13.333) and inadequate number of workers (OR= 10.872; 95%CI= 3.409-34.675). Being a nursing technician was a predictor of being a union member (OR= 8.967; 95%CI=2.560-31.410).

CONCLUSIONS

The pandemic has accentuated the precariousness of working conditions in nursing professionals, especially among nurses.

The effects of precarious employment and calling on the psychosocial health and work well-being of young and older workers in the care sector: a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

Employment conditions in the care sector are changing, and precarious employment (PE) is becoming more widespread, manifesting as undervaluation, adverse leadership, work overload, and inadequate control over work. This study aimed to examine changes in psychosocial health, work well-being, PE, and calling over time and explore the effects of PE and calling on psychosocial health and work well-being.

METHODS

The longitudinal study collected follow-up panel data in the three time points (2020, 2022, and 2023) from care workers (n = 1502), linear mixed effects models.

RESULTS

PE decreased (β =  - 0.02), and perceived work well-being increased (β = 0.04), but there were no change in psychosocial health (β =  - 0.01) and calling (β = 0.01) during the three-year period. Younger (< 39) care workers perceived higher levels of PE and had poorer psychological health. Moreover, PE had a negative effect on psychosocial health (β =  - 0.63) and work well-being (β =  - 0.68) and calling had a positive effect on psychosocial health (β = 0.41) and work well-being (β = 0.49) in multivariate models.

CONCLUSION

PE conditions affect work performance and employee well-being and may threaten patient care; therefore, it should be further investigated in the care sector. It is noteworthy that calling still seems to be central in care work. The results deepen the understanding of the current shortage crisis in health and social care workplaces but can also provide keys to resolving the crisis.

Factors associated with the attraction and retention of family and community medicine and nursing residents in rural settings: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The current shortage of primary care doctors and nurses is causing difficulties in replacement, and this shortage is expected to increase. This situation is more pronounced in rural environments than in urban ones. Family and community care specialty training is a key component of both the transition to clinical practice and the retention of new professionals. The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes and perceptions of internal medicine residents and internal nurse residents trained in a rural teaching unit on factors associated with recruitment and retention, including the role of the specialty training programme.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used, and thirteen residents from the central Catalonia teaching unit who were in their final year of training participated in semistructured interviews. The data were collected during 2022 and were subsequently analysed with thematic analysis. The study is reported using the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS

Six themes emerged from data related to perceptions and attitudes about the factors associated with recruitment and retention: training programme, characteristics of the family and community specialty, concept of rural life, family and relational factors, economic and resource factors, and recruitment and job opportunities.

CONCLUSIONS

Family and community medicine and nursing residents trained in rural settings expressed satisfaction with the specialty programme and most features of primary care, but they experienced a wide range of uncertainties in deciding on their professional future in terms of living in rural areas, family support, financial support and recruitment. This study identifies individual and structural factors that could be of great use to retain doctors and nurses in rural areas.