Quantitative assessment of organizational culture within hospitals and its relevance to infection prevention and control strategies

J Hosp Infect. 2015 May;90(1):75-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2014.12.015. Epub 2015 Jan 15.

Abstract

It has been suggested that organizational culture (OC) is an important driver of infection prevention and control (IPC) behaviour among healthcare workers. This study examined OC in seven European hospitals using a validated assessment tool based on Hofstede's model, and identified significant variations in OC scores. Hospitals with low prevalence of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) exhibited high scores for change facilitation and change readiness, whereas hospitals with high prevalence of MRSA exhibited low scores for these determinants. It is possible to use tools, available outside health care, to study OC within hospitals and gain better insight into IPC behaviour change strategies.

Keywords: Behaviour change; Hofstede.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Behavior
  • Cross Infection / prevention & control
  • Culture
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Hospital Administration / standards*
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / methods
  • Infection Control / organization & administration*
  • Infection Control / standards
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification
  • Nurses / psychology
  • Organizational Culture*
  • Physicians / psychology
  • Prevalence
  • Staphylococcal Infections / prevention & control
  • Surveys and Questionnaires