COPE Staff – Working Environment in Antenatal, Maternity and Neonatal Care
Short description
COPE Staff is a national, interdisciplinary research programme investigating the organisational conditions required for sustainable and safe antenatal, maternity and neonatal care. Through research on areas including the working environment, moral distress, leadership and organisational change, we examine the factors that affect staff well-being, their ability to remain in the profession and the conditions for providing high-quality, safe care.
Background and aim
High-quality and safe antenatal, maternity and neonatal care depends on healthcare professionals having the organisational conditions they need to carry out their work, while maintaining their well-being and willingness to remain in their profession. High workloads, ethically challenging situations, organisational change and insufficient leadership and support can affect both staff and healthcare services.
COPE Staff is a national, interdisciplinary research programme that investigates these relationships. The project began during the COVID-19 pandemic but has since developed into a long-term research programme focusing on the working environment, moral distress, leadership and organisational change in antenatal, maternity and neonatal care.
The programme’s steering group brings together expertise in sexual, reproductive and perinatal health, obstetrics, neonatology, infectious diseases, occupational health, psychology, political science and biostatistics. This interdisciplinary expertise enables complex working environment issues to be studied from multiple perspectives and at different levels of healthcare organisations.
Research from multiple perspectives
COPE Staff approaches working environment issues from several perspectives. Using longitudinal surveys, qualitative studies and mixed methods, we investigate areas including working conditions and well-being, moral distress, leadership, organisational decision-making and processes of change.
Particular attention is given to how organisational structures and ways of working affect staff members’ ability to manage demanding situations, remain in their profession and provide high-quality, safe care.
Significance
The aim is to move beyond describing problems in the working environment to identifying organisational factors that can be changed. The knowledge generated can be used to develop organisations that prevent ill health and moral distress, support staff well-being and create the conditions for sustainable, safe care in the long term.