Organizational patient safety culture and workforce well-being among healthcare workers: associations with resilience and work-life balance in a hospital-wide cross-sectional study.
4 affiliations
- 1Program in Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 2Center for Quality Management, Chi Mei Hospital, Liouying, Tainan, Taiwan.
- 3Department of Intensive Care, Chi Mei Hospital, Liouying, Tainan, Taiwan.
- 4Center for Quality Management, Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Chi Mei Hospital, Liouying, Tainan, Taiwan. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Patient safety culture is widely recognized as a core determinant of healthcare quality, safety, and organizational performance (1). Increasing attention has also been directed toward healthcare workforce well-being, particularly positive psychological resources such as resilience (2) and work-life balance. These factors, alongside the mitigation of occupational stress (3), are essential in influencing safety-related behaviors and the sustainability of health service delivery. However, empirical evidence integrating multidimensional patient safety culture with positive workforce well-being outcomes at the organizational level remains limited (4).Methods
A hospital-wide cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare workers at a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan during 2024. Patient safety culture was assessed using a validated multidimensional safety culture instrument, while workforce well-being was measured in terms of resilience and work-life balance. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression models were applied to examine associations between safety culture dimensions and well-being outcomes, with subgroup analyses across demographic and professional characteristics.Results
A total of 1,779 healthcare workers participated. Multiple linear regression revealed that while most safety culture dimensions positively influenced work-life balance, job satisfaction exhibited a significant negative association with resilience (β = -0.400, p < 0.001). Stress perception emerged as a strong predictor of higher resilience but poorer work-life balance.Conclusions
The study underscores the dialectical relationship between organizational culture and workforce well-being. The findings suggest that resilience may function as a compensatory resource for healthcare workers in demanding environments. Health services managers should integrate workforce well-being into safety frameworks, moving beyond satisfaction scores to address the structural conditions that shape both resilience and work-life balance.
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BibTeX
@article{hsieh2026organizational,
title = {{Organizational patient safety culture and workforce well-being among healthcare workers: associations with resilience and work-life balance in a hospital-wide cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Mei-Fei Hsieh and Po-Ming Ku and Chin-Ming Chen},
journal = {BMC health services research},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12913-026-15166-x},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907819},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Organizational patient safety culture and workforce well-being among healthcare workers: associations with resilience and work-life balance in a hospital-wide cross-sectional study.
AU - Mei-Fei Hsieh
AU - Po-Ming Ku
AU - Chin-Ming Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - BMC health services research
DO - 10.1186/s12913-026-15166-x
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907819
AB - Background Patient safety culture is widely recognized as a core determinant of healthcare quality, safety, and organizational performance (1). Increasing attention has also been directed toward healthcare workforce well-being, particularly positive psychological resources such as resilience (2) and work-life balance. These factors, alongside the mitigation of occupational stress (3), are essential in influencing safety-related behaviors and the sustainability of health service delivery. However, empirical evidence integrating multidimensional patient safety culture with positive workforce well-being outcomes at the organizational level remains limited (4).Methods A hospital-wide cross-sectional survey was conducted among healthcare workers at a regional teaching hospital in Taiwan during 2024. Patient safety culture was assessed using a validated multidimensional safety culture instrument, while workforce well-being was measured in terms of resilience and work-life balance. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression models were applied to examine associations between safety culture dimensions and well-being outcomes, with subgroup analyses across demographic and professional characteristics.Results A total of 1,779 healthcare workers participated. Multiple linear regression revealed that while most safety culture dimensions positively influenced work-life balance, job satisfaction exhibited a significant negative association with resilience (β = -0.400, p < 0.001). Stress perception emerged as a strong predictor of higher resilience but poorer work-life balance.Conclusions The study underscores the dialectical relationship between organizational culture and workforce well-being. The findings suggest that resilience may function as a compensatory resource for healthcare workers in demanding environments. Health services managers should integrate workforce well-being into safety frameworks, moving beyond satisfaction scores to address the structural conditions that shape both resilience and work-life balance.
SN - 1472-6963
ER -