The relationship of attitudes and behaviors with working conditions and physical activity among workers in public hospitals in Greece

OBJECTIVE To investigate (a) the structural validity of the Greek version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ), and (b) the relationship between SAQ scores and attitudes and behaviors concerning physical activity, among health care workers in Greek public hospitals. METHOD Three questionnaires were used. The first questionnaire, SAQ, investigated factors related to patient safety. The second questionnaire examined attitudes towards physical activity, and the third questionnaire, the Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, was used to estimate the weekly exercise of the participants. Questionnaires were completed by 508 health care workers, from 10 city and regional hospitals in the 3rd health prefecture of Macedonia (Northern Greece), and the 1st health prefecture of Attica (Athens). RESULTS The study results confirmed the structural validity of the Greek version of SAQ. Significant differences were demonstrated between the items on SAQ, according to (a) the specialty of the health care workers, where doctors had higher scores than nurses in "job satisfaction" and "teamwork climate", (b) hospital category, where workers in regional hospitals had higher scores than those in city hospitals in "job satisfaction", "safety climate" and "work conditions", and (c) exercise, where pro-exercisers had higher scores than non-exercisers in"stress reduction"and "job satisfaction". CONCLUSIONS The Greek version of SAQ is a reliable tool for assessing the safety climate, teamwork, work satisfaction, working conditions, stress recognition and management perceptions among health care workers in Greek hospitals. Investigation of the attitudes and behaviors of health professionals can make a significant contribution to the design and implementation of interventions to reduce workplace stress, and promote healthier lifestyles.