How do the Working Conditions of a Healthcare Worker Affect Family Life?: Seeing Through the Eyes of Healthcare Worker Spouses

Abstract

Aim: In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the relationship between the working conditions of healthcare workers and their family life from the perspective of the spouses of healthcare workers. Method: The research is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The data of the study were collected from 146 physicians and nurse spouses in the form of an online questionnaire. Results: It was determined that 68.5% of the participants were male, 69.9% of them were non-health personnel, 90.4% of them did not work shifts and the mean age was 41.79±7.74. It was determined that 74% of the health workers were nurses and 40.4% of them worked in internal clinics. The participants stated that they did not find their spouses' financial income sufficient (68.5%), they were generally unhappy when their spouses came home from work (75.3%), their sexual life was negatively affected (46.6%), and they sometimes felt nervous and tense because of their spouses' profession (52.1%). It was determined that there was a significant relationship between the clinics in which their spouses worked and their family and social lives being affected, allocating time for their children, their sexual lives being negatively affected, and being irritable, nervous and unhappy (p<0.05). It was observed that the clinics that negatively affected the aforementioned conditions were mostly internal clinics, operating theatres, intensive care units and emergency services. Conclusion: As a result, the opinions of the spouses of healthcare workers show that there is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and the family life of healthcare workers. In the study, it was found that the family life of healthcare workers working in intensive care, operating theatre, emergency service units and internal clinics was more negatively affected than those working in other clinics. It is recommended to organise health policies that will increase the job satisfaction of health workers and to make rotations between clinics in a way that does not negatively affect the working environment.