Last update:
   24-Jan-2024
 

Arch Hellen Med, 41(1), January-February 2024, 91-98

ORIGINAL PAPER

Determinants of hospital workers' perceptions regarding clinical governance

Z. Doupa,1 P. Galanis,2 C. Oikonomou,3 E. Simou,4 V. Papanikolaou4
1"Korgialenio-Benakio Hellenic Red Cross" Hospital, Athens,
2Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Nursing, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
3Department of Sociology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens,
4Department of Public Health Policy, School of Public Health, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

OBJECTIVE To assess the climate of clinical governance and to investigate the determinants of employees' views.

METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample. Study population consisted of 339 people working in a public hospital in Attica, Greece. The participation rate was 75.3% (339/450). Data collection was performed between June and August 2022. The Clinical Governance Climate Questionnaire was used to assess the clinical governance climate, with the evaluation of the following six parameters: (a) Quality improvement, (b) risk management, (c) fair penalties, (d) organizational learning, (e) opportunities for training and development, and (f ) colleagues collaboration.

RESULTS The mean values for both the total score and the six factors indicate a moderate level of clinical governance. According to the results of multivariable linear regression, age was associated with the views on clinical governance. Specifically, older employees had more positive views on the factors "quality improvement", "clinical risk management", "colleagues collaboration", "opportunities for training and development" than younger employees. With regard to overall clinical governance scores, older employees had an overall more positive view of clinical governance compared to younger employees. In addition, employees in the medical and administrative service had a more positive view of "quality improvement" and "overall clinical governance scores" compared to nurses. Finally, workers in the administrative service had a more positive view of the parameters "clinical risk management" and "fair penalty" than workers in the medical and nursing service.

CONCLUSIONS Since the climate of clinical governance was moderate, there is still room for improvement. Establishing measures and adopting strategies to ensure full implementation of the clinical governance protocol in hospitals is crucial and will go a long way in improving the quality of healthcare services provided.

Key words: Clinical governance, Organizational climate, Organizational culture, Quality of health services.

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