Quality of Life and Working Conditions for Healthcare Workers in Intensive Care Units

Intensive care units occupy a unique position within hospitals due to the severity of the conditions treated there, the technical nature of the care provided, and the significant human resources deployed to care for a limited number of patients. The human and technical resources required for intensive care address issues of efficiency, quality, and safety of care, in relation to the conditions under which critical care is provided, as well as to patient well-being objectives (Decree No. 2022-694 of April 26, 2022). Healthcare staff in these departments, however, face difficult working conditions that generate ethical conflicts, stress, and burnout (Quenot et al. 2015; Laurent et al. 2024).

Research on Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QOLWC) focuses on individuals’ satisfaction with various aspects of their working conditions, such as work organization, work-life balance, or workplace relationships (Salès-Wuillemin, 2018; Salès-Wuillemin et al. 2023, 2024). Satisfaction with QWWC is a predictor of occupational stress (Bragard, Dupuis, Fleet, 2014). In this project, the QualTra-Scale (Salès-Wuillemin, Gabarrot, Minondo-Kaghad et al. 2024) is used to measure the QoW of healthcare professionals. The CV Scale (Value Conflicts, Guigou and Salès-Wuillemin, 2024) measures value conflicts (ethical conflicts, compromised quality, and unnecessary work). The PSS-10 scale (Cohen et al. 1983) measures perceived stress. The IQ-5 scale (Bertrand, Peters, Pérée, and Hansez, 2010) measures intention to leave.

QWcT is a lever for action to address the human resources crisis within healthcare units. This crisis could, in the very short term, jeopardize the organizational balance of the healthcare system and pose a real risk of undermining the continuity, quality, and safety of care.