IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT ON BURNOUT AND PATIENT SAFETY: EVIDENCE FROM TERTIARY HEALTHCARE SETTINGS IN KARACHI

Abstract

Background: The safety of patients is one of the core indicators of health care service quality, especially in situations where there is insufficient health care resource availability. Healthcare provider burnout is an important predictor of patient safety outcomes. Perceived organizational support may be instrumental in promoting patient safety culture by minimizing the effects of burnout. Objectives: To determine the association between perceived organizational support, burnout, and patient safety culture and evaluate the role of burnout as a mediator in tertiary health care institutions in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out among 110 health care providers, consisting of physicians, nurses, and allied health personnel in tertiary health care facilities in Karachi, Pakistan, using a convenience sampling method. Data were collected using standardized instruments, which include the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture scales. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis with Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 4) using 5,000 bootstrap samples were used for data analysis.

Results: Respondents perceived moderate organizational support (3.99 ± 0.61), burnout (3.21 ± 0.68), and patient safety culture (3.67 ± 0.57). The organizational support scale exhibited a negative relationship with the burnout scale (r = –0.52, p < 0.01), while a positive relationship with the patient safety culture scale (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) was found. Moreover, the burnout scale correlated negatively with the patient safety scale (r = –0.58, p < 0.01). Organizational support (β = 0.43, p < 0.001) and burnout (β = –0.39, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of patient safety culture (R² = 0.50). Mediation analysis confirmed partial mediation of burnout in the association between organizational support and patient safety culture.

Conclusion: Organizational support perceptions have a significant impact on patient safety culture both directly and indirectly through burnout