Somatic symptoms, perceived stress and perceived job satisfaction among nurses working in an Indian psychiatric hospital

Development of the FAce-to-face Cooperation Evaluation scale Short-version (FACES) to enhance collaboration among health and long-term care providers

This study aimed to develop the FAce-to-face Cooperation Evaluation scale Short-version (FACES) to create a simple low-burden rating scale for promoting collaboration between health and long-term care providers. A survey was conducted with 151 care providers, obtaining valid responses from 147 (30 nurses, 67 care managers, and 50 care workers; response rate 97.4 %). Through confirmatory factor analysis, we developed a short-version scale consisting of 7 items by selecting one item with the highest regression coefficient from each of the 7 factors in the original 21-item version. The reliability was verified by confirming internal consistency. Regarding construct validity, the goodness-of-fit indices confirmed acceptable fit, and the correlation between the original and the shortened version was 0.98. Convergent validity was found as significant using the collaborative behavior evaluation scale and job satisfaction measure. FACES is considered a useful scale for easily measuring the level of collaboration among various professions in the community.

Relationship between nurses’ psychological capital and satisfaction of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

As a special vulnerable group, the physical and mental health of elderly cancer patients has attracted much attention. However, few studies have focused on the impact of nurses’ mental state on the mental health of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this literature gap, this study aims to explore the impact of nurses’ psychological capital on the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients. The job demands-resources model (JD-R) is used to further investigate how work engagement and job resources of nurses affect this relationship.

Methods

The questionnaire survey was used to collect data, participants included 230 elderly cancer patients and their nurses from a tertiary first-class cancer hospital in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted with SmartPLS 3.3.9.

Results

Nurses’ psychological capital has a significant positive impact on the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses’ work engagement is an important mechanism for their psychological capital to affect the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients. In addition, nurses’ job resources positively moderate the relationship between their psychological capital and work engagement. The positive relationship between psychological capital and work engagement of nurses is stronger when they have abundant job resources.

Discussion

These findings suggest that healthcare organizations should take the psychological capital of medical staff as an important means to improve their competitive advantage. It can improve the quality of medical services to obtain good performance by effectively developing and managing the psychological capital of medical staff. In addition, healthcare organizations should recognize the importance of providing adequate job resources for medical staff.

Relationship between nurses' psychological capital and satisfaction of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

As a special vulnerable group, the physical and mental health of elderly cancer patients has attracted much attention. However, few studies have focused on the impact of nurses' mental state on the mental health of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to this literature gap, this study aims to explore the impact of nurses' psychological capital on the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients. The job demands-resources model (JD-R) is used to further investigate how work engagement and job resources of nurses affect this relationship.

Methods

The questionnaire survey was used to collect data, participants included 230 elderly cancer patients and their nurses from a tertiary first-class cancer hospital in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted with SmartPLS 3.3.9.

Results

Nurses' psychological capital has a significant positive impact on the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses' work engagement is an important mechanism for their psychological capital to affect the satisfaction of elderly cancer patients. In addition, nurses' job resources positively moderate the relationship between their psychological capital and work engagement. The positive relationship between psychological capital and work engagement of nurses is stronger when they have abundant job resources.

Discussion

These findings suggest that healthcare organizations should take the psychological capital of medical staff as an important means to improve their competitive advantage. It can improve the quality of medical services to obtain good performance by effectively developing and managing the psychological capital of medical staff. In addition, healthcare organizations should recognize the importance of providing adequate job resources for medical staff.

"I Constantly Feel Worn Out": Mixed-methodology Approach to Seafarers' Sleep on Board

Although seafaring is one of the most important professions for trade in goods in the 21st century, the results of recent research indicate that seafarers face various sources of stress in their work, including high workload and long working hours. These stressors can be reflected in low job satisfaction and poor mental health, which can result in sleep problems, and consequently lead to various somatic symptoms. The main goal of this mixed method research was, therefore, to expand knowledge about seafarers' sleep on board, whereby a sequential explanatory design was used. Study 1 (N = 286 male seafarers from Croatia) examined whether the number of sleep hours on board has a mediating role in explaining the relationship between job satisfaction and mental health as predictors of somatic symptoms. The results of the path analysis showed that higher job satisfaction directly and indirectly through longer sleep on board reduces the number of somatic symptoms, while better mental health directly contributes to fewer somatic symptoms. Study 2 (N = 205 seafarers from Croatia) aimed to get a deeper insight into the sleep of seafarers on board, whereby 39% (N = 80) of the participants had difficulties related to sleep problems on board. The thematic analysis of their answers (N = 76) showed the sleeping difficulties experienced by seafarers on board and gave an insight into the consequences of sleeping difficulties and the coping strategies they use. The results of this research indicate the importance of developing healthy work environments for seafarers.

Effect of educational intervention on improving nurse's general health in military hospitals of Iran: a quasi-experimental study

Background

Nursing in military hospitals affects their general health. Educational interventions can help to maintain the general health of nurses. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention to improve the general health of nurses in military hospitals.

Methods

In this quasi-experimental study, 146 nurses working in military hospitals in Tehran, Iran in 2021 were included in the study. The one-month educational intervention included videos, pamphlets, and motivational messages about promoting general health. General health questionnaire with 28 items (GHQ28) was study tool. The allocation of nurses to groups was not random, it was based on personal interest. Frequency (percentage), and mean (standard deviation) were used to describe, and the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, independent and paired t-test were used for data analysis. All analyzes were performed in SPSS 24 software with a significance level of 5%.

Results

A total of 146 nurses participated in the study, most of them were in the age group of 30 to 40 years (64 people, 43.8%), and 76.7% (112 people) of them were women. The results of the independent sample t-test showed after the intervention, general health scores in the intervention group had a significant decrease compared to the control (p < 0.001) (change in intervention group = -31.1, V.S change in control = 0.55). The results of paired t-test showed that only in the intervention group, the value of the general health score and its dimensions were significantly different (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The educational intervention performed well and decreased the score of the general health of military nurses. Given that these positive effects may be temporary, it is necessary to design and perform educational interventions over a longer period.

Validation of the work stress screener (WOSS-13) and resilience at work scale (ReWoS-24)

OBJECTIVE

Work stress is a global issue with countries such as the UK requiring organisations to protect employees. Work stress can be beneficial (challenging) or harmful (overwhelming), and characteristics such as resilience are thought to mitigate some of the negative effects. This paper describes the validation of two new scales. The WOSS-13 was designed to measure both benign and harmful experiences of work stress, while the ReWoS-24 captures information about individual and team resilience.

METHODS

For both scales the assessment of individual items, domains captured by scale items, reliability and validity were completed using data from a survey of 1980 individuals from the University of York, England. A sub-sample of respondents (N = 609) provided additional data for retest purposes. Analyses were performed using these two samples.

RESULTS

Responses to scale items were found to be normally distributed. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the WOSS-13 was comprised of three subscales: positive work-related affect/stress, general positive affect and harmful stress. The ReWoS-24 is presented as four sub-scales: general well-being, well-being at work, satisfaction with job performance and team resilience. All subscales demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ≥0.80). Both scales complement existing measures of stress and mental health.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that the WOSS-13 is a valid and reliable measure which enables the assessment of both benign and harmful forms of work stress. The ReWoS-24 is a valid and reliable measure of individual and team resilience. These scales could be used in workplaces to assess for and mitigate against, harmful work stress.

Patient satisfaction with nursing care: A bibliometric and visualization analysis (1950-2021)

AIM

The current study aimed to provide an overview of research publications on patient satisfaction with nursing care.

BACKGROUND

Research activity on patient satisfaction with nursing care is an indicator of the commitment of policymakers to improve the quality of health services.

DESIGN

This was a descriptive cross-sectional bibliometric study.

METHODS

The Scopus database was used to retrieve relevant documents for the period from 1950 to 31 December 2021. The keywords 'patient satisfaction' and 'nursing care' were used in the search strategy. Two volunteers validated the search strategy.

RESULTS

The search strategy found 387 documents authored by 1470 researchers and disseminated through 241 journals. Research on patient satisfaction with nursing care (a) has experienced a steep growth over the last decade; (b) was mainly published by scholars from a limited number of countries; (c) has limited cross-country collaboration and limited author collaboration; (d) has addressed research topics concerning the quality of care, instrument validation, emergency department and hospital care and (e) has shown the highest readability for topics related to nurses' burnout and patient satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Researchers and educators, especially in low- and middle-income countries, need to focus on this field to support activities to upgrade health services and patient outcomes.

Negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses can be buffered by a sense of humor and appreciation

BACKGROUND

The first analyses of the various consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic show that the risk to nurses' psychological well-being is particularly high. As the pandemic and the demands imposed on nurses are not yet fully understood, there is a need to seek buffering factors to protect nurses' psychological health. In line with the earliest evidence, we hypothesize pandemic-related increases in perceived stress and decreases in the frequency of flow experiences, likewise in satisfaction with work, life, work performance, and well-being. As protective factors while dealing with pandemic-related stress, we suggest an individual's sense of humor and perceived appreciation.

METHODS

In June/July 2020 - during the first lockdown in Germany - participants completed an online-survey in which they were asked to rate their situation before the pandemic (retrospectively) and during the pandemic. Our sample consisted of 174 registered nurses (161 females, 13 males, Mage = 40.52), of whom 85 worked as public health nurses and 89 as geriatric nurses.

RESULTS

During the pandemic, nurses felt more stressed, had fewer flow experiences, and were less satisfied with their work, life, work-performance, and well-being than before the pandemic. In addition, nurses felt more appreciation from society but less from their patients. Sense of humor and the perceived appreciation of society and patients were confirmed as buffers of negative pandemic-related effects.

CONCLUSION

Our study contributes to the so far scarce knowledge on nurses' pandemic-related stress and well-being in combination with their resources. Moreover, we were able to identify sense of humor and appreciation as protective factors.

Stress: Prevalence and correlates among residents of a suburban area

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Stress is a major concern in the present scenario as it is occurring in a big way involving all age groups. The objectives of this study were estimating the prevalence of stress, assessing the associated stress factors, and symptoms of stress among residents of suburban community.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in a suburban area in Delhi from June to August 2017. Adults and children aged 14 years and above permanently residing (1 year or more) in the area were included in the study. A sample size of 384 was calculated with the alpha error set to 05% and absolute error 05%, and to cater for refusals, a total of 400 participants were approached. A structured questionnaire was used for the study by interview method. To estimate the prevalence of stress, a standardized scale, depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21 was used.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants in the study was 36.31 (±15.10), with 51.2% of males and 48.8% of females. Among the children, the leading factors associated with stress were studies (41.2%), poverty (22.1%), and competitions (16.2%). Among the adults, the leading factors were financial problems (35.2%) and children's studies (23.1%). The most common reported somatic symptom during stress was headache (59.8%) and psychological symptom was "unable to sleep" (47.5%). The prevalence of stress was 26% in a subset of sample in this study. There was a statistically significant association of stress with family size, the level of stress decreased with an increase in family size.

CONCLUSION

The study emphasizes the need for effective prevention and management of stress in the community and schools.

Minor psychiatric disorders in nursing: prevalence and associated factors

ABSTRACT Objective: to investigate the prevalence of Minor Psychiatric Disorders and associated factors in nursing workers. Method: observational and analytical sectional study. Data were collected from 285 nursing workers. A questionnaire containing sociodemographic, occupational, psychosocial aspects of work and mental health was used. Bivariate and multivariate analysis were performed by binary logistic regression. Results: the global prevalence of suspected Minor Psychiatric Disorders among nursing workers was 32.6%. Higher prevalence rates were found among female, young, married/common-law married individuals, in the nursing assistant/technician categories, with income up to four minimum wages, developing high-demand work with low social support, high effort-reward imbalance, and over-commitment. Conclusion: the variables that remained associated with the mental health outcome in the final model were: female gender, married/common-law married, high-demand work, high effort-reward imbalance, and over-commitment.

The role of job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities on nurses' turnover intention and patient satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Nurses' voluntary turnover is a worrying global phenomenon which affects service quality. Retaining nursing staff within a hospital is important to eliminate the negative influence of voluntary turnover on the quality of care and organisation costs.

OBJECTIVES

This research helps explain nurses' voluntary turnover by analysing the role of self-efficacy, agentic capacities, job satisfaction, and work engagement on hospital turnover intention, and to study the relationships between these variables and patient satisfaction.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

This study gathered data from 194 nurses and 181 patients from 22 inpatient wards at two hospitals in southern Italy.

RESULTS

Correlation analysis revealed that job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy and agentic capacities were positively interrelated and negatively correlated with turnover intention. Path analysis showed that self-efficacy, some agentic capacities (anticipation and self-regulation), job satisfaction, and work engagement had direct or indirect effects on nurses' turnover intention, and that job satisfaction exerted a stronger effect on turnover intention. Also, patient satisfaction was positively correlated with nurses' job satisfaction, work engagement, self-efficacy, self-regulation and anticipation and negatively correlated with nurses' turnover intention.

CONCLUSION

Results highlighted the importance of implementing actions (for example through feedforward methodology and the goal setting technique) to improve self-efficacy, self-regulation skill, work engagement and job satisfaction in order to reduce nurses' turnover intention and increase patient satisfaction with nursing care.

Intraorganizational Communication and Job Satisfaction Among Flemish Hospital Nurses: An Exploratory Multicenter Study

Intraorganizational communication affects job satisfaction and turnover. The goal of this study was to explore relationships between communication and job satisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout among Flemish hospital nurses. A multicenter questionnaire study was conducted in three hospitals using the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Turnover Intention subscale of the Questionnaire on the Experience and Evaluation of Work, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. A visual analog scale measured job satisfaction. The mean job satisfaction score was 7.49/10 (±1.43). Almost 7% of nurse participants (93/1,355) reported a high intent to leave, and 2.9% of the respondents (41/1,454) had a score indicative of burnout. All dimensions of communication were associated with job satisfaction. A low score on any dimension of communication satisfaction, except “Relationship With Employees,” was associated with higher intent to leave and burnout. Study findings support the need for management interventions to enhance efficient communication and ensure high-quality care and patient safety.

Low back pain among nurses in Slovenian hospitals: cross-sectional study

AIM

The study investigated the prevalence and factors predicting low back pain among nurses in Slovenian hospitals.

BACKGROUND

The risk factors for low back pain are physical and psychosocial. Implementation of interventions for reducing low back pain calls for management support, accessible equipment, education, knowledge and risk assessment.

INTRODUCTION

Low back pain prevalence and incidence among healthcare workers is very high compared to the general population and is a strong risk factor for long-term sickness absence.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was utilized. We used validated instruments: Nordic Musculoskeletal Disorder Questionnaire, Stanford Presenteeism Scale and Perceived Stress Scale. The sample included 1744 nursing employees from 16 Slovenian hospitals, ranging from practical nurses, registered nurses, nurses with a bachelor's degree and those with a master's degree.

FINDINGS

Results revealed a prevalence of low back pain among 85.9% of respondents. Relevant risk factors included female gender, age, length of employment, years in current position, shift work and the number of nurses per shift. In the regression model, factors predicting low back pain included presenteeism with a negative effect on work, presenteeism and maintaining work productivity, inability to control daily life, number of nurses per shift and respondents' age.

CONCLUSIONS

Future activities should be oriented towards eliminating or reducing risks for low back pain incidents and towards different strategies, guidelines and actions which empower individuals and provide knowledge to manage and prevent low back pain.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT AND HEALTH POLICY

Slovenian healthcare system planning needs a national strategy to successfully promote LBP preventive and controlling strategies. Management can plan preventive and curative measures to reduce low back pain prevalence among nursing personnel. Management should also implement policies reflecting research findings.