Health behaviour and health promotion of outpatient caregivers: an exploratory, qualitative study on the current situation, potential obstacles, challenges and solution strategies from the perspective of experts

Abstract

Background: According to forecasts, there will be a shortage of up to 0.85 million skilled workers in healthcare by 2050. Increasing workloads are already leading to high levels of sick leave among employees. There is a lack of scientific knowledge about the health behaviour of outpatient caregivers to be able to develop and provide target group-specific measures for workplace health promotion (WHP). Objectives: Based on the opinions of experts, the aim was to characterise the health behaviour of outpatient caregivers and to determine existing WHP measures in outpatient care. In addition, experts’ experiences with regard to the development and implementation of WHP measures were recorded. Materials and methods: Ten experts from the Hamburg care industry and science were surveyed in a focus group interview in January 2020. The data were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. Results: As a basis for self-determination and independence in dealing with one’s own health, the experts on nutrition, physical activity and smoking emphasised the central importance of awareness-raising measures for nursing staff. To cope with stress, the focus was increasingly on preventive measures such as realistic trip planning, working time planning and adjusting break times. Conclusions: The working conditions of outpatient care have a negative effect on the eating and drinking behaviour as well as the physical activity of the employees. Quantitative surveys on the health behaviour of outpatient nurses are required in order to strengthen the experts’ assessments. Target group-specific measures of WHP must be adapted to outpatient care and include both behavioural and preventive approaches.