Health Review | September – December 2019

Objectives: This review aims to investigate the effect of economic recession on healthcare system in Greece and public health of Greek society in general, and to underline the necessity to take increased measures for vulnerable groups of the society. Material and Methods: Relevant studies were searched in PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Chronological limit was set to studies published before 2009. Studies in English or Greek language were selected. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set. Quality assessment of included studies was performed by using elements such as reporting bias, selection bias, adequate statistical analysis and funding bias. An overall score was calculated. No bias detected among the studies included. Results: The research strategy investigates 17 studies relevant to research question. From these, 4 were retrospective studies, 3 Interrupted Time Series (ITS), 3 were Data Enveloped Analysis (DEA), 1 Bootstrapping, 4 cross sectional studies, 1 Time Series Analysis and 1 ecological study. Outcomes studied were suicide rates, mental health, mortality, access to healthcare services, vaccination and Greek public Hospitals efficiency and productivity. Conclusion: The study showed that economic crisis from its beginning has affected multiple aspects of health and healthcare system in Greece at various levels. It is important to remain vigilant and take increased measures in order to protect the citizens and especially the vulnerable groups of the society.

Early identification, correct assessment and effective response to the risks that each economic operator threatens as a living entity is achieved by planning its future action while exploiting opportunities stemming from its economic and social environment. Thus, the systematic and continuous observation, recording, classification, utilization and evaluation of the information available which is achieved by the preparation of financial statements, especially in speculative public organizations such as hospitals, are absolutely necessary. In the context of this work, the financial analysis of the financial statements of "Attikon", one of the largest university hospitals in Attica, which absorbs a large share of the state budget, is being conducted for a decade (2008-2017) of constant changes and economic pressures, both domestic and international and led to major health changes, which have proven to have a positive effect on its financial position. A longitudinal analysis was carried out using the indexes, from which useful outcomes were made regarding the liquidity, profitability, efficiency, financial structure and hospital activity. From the results of the financial analysis and given the unfavorable economic situation in which the country was found most of the evaluative years, it appears that the health policies implemented as a whole have significantly improved the financial position of the hospital nearly tripling net profit as well as working capital, making it able to cover 7.89 times its liabilities, while its viability depends directly on government grants, which, from 34% in 2008, ended up with 75% of total income exploitation in 2016 and almost 50% in 2017. The main reasons for the positive financial results in hospital situations, especially during the years of crisis, were the issuance of government bonds at the expense of liabilities, grants in containment boxes of arrears and financial support, the rebate and clawback mechanisms, the Diagnosis-related group (DRG’s) payment system and deletions of high demand from National Organization for the Provision of Health Services (Greek acronym: ΕΟΠΥΥ).

Introduction: The current project studies mobbing and its effects upon the health and quality of life of the workforce/employees. This harassment (mobbing) against the target-employee takes place as a methodic/systematic psychological attack and involves yelling, derogatory comments, distortion of the victims’ words, and threats/accusations for negligence of duty, when previously and deliberately vital information were not providing. Aim: The current study aims to document and investigate mobbing at a public hospital. Additional goals were to assess aspects of mobbing, like its causes, the impact it has on the victims or on the organization, as well as the measures required to be taken for the prevention and dealing with the phenomenon. Material and Method: The material of the study, concerning the theoretical approach, was both the Greek and international literature and search was performed on Pubmed and Google Scholar data, while the study sample consisted of ‘Agioi Anargyroi’ Oncology Hospital staff from various profession. For the conduct of the research, a version of the French edition of Leymann’s questionnaire on psychological terror in the workplace was used (Leymmann Inventory of Psychological Terror -LIPT), calibrated and translated in Greek; while, varied determiners that contribute to the appearance of mobbing were studied in particular. Results: The research conducted confirms that mobbing affects employees in Public Health Care Sector. Out of the 83 members of participating staff, 49 have suffered mobbing (which corresponds to 59,0%). The most frequent/common psychological symptom they have experienced was intense stress (42,9%). The number of incidents of mobbing on various participants differs significantly according to their level of education. Specifically, holders of MSc or PhD title had to deal with significantly more incidents of ethical harassment behaviors. Conclusion: The mobbing phenomenon appears to be an increasing threat to the health of workers in health sector, and both the state and health organizations must adopt and implement effective measures to address this threat.

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of job satisfaction among Pyrgos Hospital (General Hospital of Ilia) employees and to identify the desired by its personnel motivational methods. On the theoretical level reference is made to the concepts of occupational satisfaction and motivation techniques in healthcare sector, whereas the research investigates the optimal incentives as a key factor in increasing employee job satisfaction in the specific unit. A questionnaire anonymously survey was conducted with a convenience sample and we used IBM SPSS Statistical program for the data analysis. The results indicate that the working environment consist the main source for the occupational satisfaction, while the lower degree of job satisfaction emanates from the prospects for recognition and development. The establishment of the job description and assignment rule, the staff training and the linkage of wage with individuals’ performance and productivity were indicated as the most desirable motivation techniques. As cardinal conclusion the research shows that, special emphasis should be placed on the lifelong education and training of staff, including the higher hierarchy, in order to ensure the preconditions for the (a) human resources development and (b) emergence of tomorrow's executives.