For the first time in BGW history, the congress series "BGW forum" will also host two international panels by the ISSA Section on Prevention of Occupational Risks in Health Services. This year, the BGW forum will focus on the topic of occupational health and safety in hospitals, and will welcome about 500 guests on site and online. From nurses to health scientists to hospital managers, representatives from all areas of the health care sector will be present in Hamburg from the 4th till the 6th of September and participate in the discussions and knowledge exchanges.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made it increasingly clear that crises in our healthcare system and the associated need to protect employees must also be considered in a global context. The international knowledge exchange holds the opportunity to combine resources and to develop a common strategy more quickly in order to be able to respond to complex global health issues.
Therefore, we would like to address the resilience of the hospital system and its employees on the two international plans and have invited speakers from Ireland, Belgium, Ghana and the USA.
Plenary session: Magnet4Europe - a multinational study based on the Magnet Recognition Program®
Tuesday, 5 September 2023, 09:00–10:30 (UTC/GMT+2 or CEST)
Mental health and wellbeing are among the highest priorities of the public health agenda in the European Union (EU). A large-scale European study of hospital work conditions and associated nurse and patient outcomes revealed high rates of job dissatisfaction and burnout, with burnout rates ranging between 10% and 78%. Doctor burnout rates ranging from 25% to 60% have been reported. Magnet4Europe aims to redesign clinical environments in more than sixty hospitals in six European countries (Belgium, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Sweden) to promote mental health and wellbeing of health professionals. Magnet4Europe will implement an evidence-based intervention based on the successful Magnet Recognition Program®, a voluntary hospital designation for nursing care excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre. Numerous studies have shown that Magnet-recognised hospitals have lower health professional burnout and safer patient care, suggesting that the Magnet journey is an intervention that results in positive changes that Magnet4Europe seeks to achieve.
The panel will showcase the obstacles and highlights since the project start in January 2020 and will particularly focus on the unexpected stressor of the COVID-19-pandemic.
Plenary session: Resilience of the hospital system in the pandemic aftermath
Tuesday, 5 September 2023, 11:00–12:30 (UTC/GMT+2 or CEST)
The hospital work environment faces a variety of challenges: The economization of care, underfunding by state budgets, and the ever-increasing shortage of skilled workers over the past few decades have put increasing pressure on the system. This already very tense environment was confronted with a global pandemic in early 2020, which, despite the self-sacrificing efforts of medical staff, increasingly revealed that hospitals were not prepared for such an exceptional situation. In addition, a consensus is increasingly forming in the scientific community that such exceptional pandemic situations will recur in the future due to the globalized nature of our societies.
Therefore, we would like to present on our panel organizations that have developed innovative approaches to provide processes for the protection of staff and patients in order to face the eventuality of a future pandemic in a more resilient way.
If you would like to register for the forum, please contact our secretariat at [email protected].