Home health nurses: stress, self-esteem, social intimacy, and job satisfaction

Identification of Measures Affecting Job Satisfaction and Levels of Perceived Stress and Burnout among Home Health Nurses of a Developing Asian Country

BACKGROUND

Factors affecting job satisfaction of home health nurses are studied.

METHODS

PSS-10, CBI and HHNJS are used to measure the perceived stress, burnout of home health nurses and Job Satisfaction.

RESULTS

The significant predictors for Job satisfaction were Relationship with organization, Autonomy and control, Salary and Benefits as 82% of variation in job satisfaction was explained by these, (F change (3, 144) = 236.72, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Agencies should work upon improving the dimensions such as the "relationship with the organization", "Autonomy and control" and "Salary and Benefits" to increases the Job satisfaction of home health nurses.

Hiring and Retaining Home Care Nurses

Home care agencies are tasked with finding increasingly cost-efficient care processes to improve the quality of patient care outcomes. Hiring and retaining nurses who are well suited for home care are important factors that can influence the cost and provision of quality care in the home. The purpose of this article is to identify characteristics of home healthcare nurses that enable them to be successful home healthcare team members and leaders. A search of the literature was conducted to compile a list of questions with which to screen home healthcare nurse applicants for the required knowledge and skills as well as to improve retention rates of nurses hired. The nature of home healthcare practice makes nurse qualification screening and interviewing a challenge. To assist hiring managers in the screening and interviewing of nurse applicants in this challenging environment, we identified targeted interview questions that will help discern those nurses who are most likely to succeed and be productive, long-term members of the home healthcare agency.

Hardiness, Job Satisfaction, and Stress Among Home Health Nurses

This descriptive study examines the relationship between hardiness, job satisfaction, and stress among home health nurses. Results of the study indicate that nurses with high levels of hardiness tend to have lower stress and higher levels of job satisfaction. Implications for home health managers and administrators include providing a high-hardy environment to improve retention and to decrease staff turnover.

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Musculoskeletal Discomforts and Occupational Stressors Among Nurses

BACKGROUND

Stress in nurses may increase the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomforts.

AIM

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomforts and job stress among nurses and to investigate the association between musculoskeletal discomforts and occupational stressors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 144 nurses in one of the main referral hospitals of Tehran-Iran were randomly selected and studied. Data were collected by HSE job stress questionnaire and The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire through interviews with nurses in their workplace.

RESULTS

Most reported musculoskeletal discomforts localized in the neck, back, knee and shoulder and the minimal discomforts were in wrist and elbow. On the other hand, stressors such as demand, changes in workplace, control and responsibilities had significant effect on increasing musculoskeletal discomforts of organs such as neck, shoulders and back (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

There was a significant association between stressors such as demand, control, responsibilities and changes in workplace and reported musculoskeletal disorders, especially in neck, shoulders and back. It is suggested to use defined programs for management and control of stressors to control occupational stress in nurses. Moreover, prevention of musculoskeletal discomforts due to their high prevalence in the study population is important.

Self-Esteem, Job Satisfaction and Burnout between General and Psychiatric Nursing Staff

The purpose of this study was to compare self-esteem, job-satisfaction and burnout between psychiatric and general nurses as well as to determine how these three elements are interrelated to each other. Like other professionals, nurses are also at risk of developing problems like professional burnout and a sense of dissatisfaction regarding their jobs. Causal factors of burnout among professionals are multi-factorial, starting from socio-demographic and occupational background to one’s personality characteristics. In this study, 30 psychiatric nurses and 30 general nurses were selected through a purposive sampling method. This was a one-time cross-sectional hospital-based study, data was collected during the period September, 2008 to November, 2008 and written consent was taken from the subjects. Statistical measures like descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test and Pearson’s correlation-coefficient were used to analyze the data. In this study psychiatric nurses had been found to have higher level of self-esteem than general nurses. Nurses working in a general hospital had been observed to have a higher level of burnout and lower job satisfaction than psychiatric nurses.

Self-esteem among German nurses: does academic education make a difference?

Self-esteem is not typically associated with the nursing profession. However, the concept is indispensible for job satisfaction and good-quality patient care. Many healthcare systems are confronted with declining numbers of qualified nurses, and desperately seek suitable strategies to recruit and retain sufficient trainees and junior staff. This investigation examined self-esteem in 212 German nurses using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Nurses with an academic degree displayed a statistically significant higher level of self-esteem than nurses without academic education (P < 0.01). The type of professional training may therefore have a direct effect on the self-esteem, thus offering a myriad of potential benefits to both nurses and patients. Self-esteem is a quality relevant to this profession and, as such, the findings of research in this area should be reflected in the design of nurse training curricula.

Predictive validity of Perceived Emotional Intelligence on nursing students' self-concept

This study examines the role of Perceived Emotional Intelligence, in nursing students' self-concept, controlling personality dimensions. Self-image is a cognitive component of the self that contains images of who we are, what we want to be and what we express and wish to express to others. Likewise, there is also an emotional and assessable component known as self-esteem. For a profession that requires not only technical expertise but also psychologically oriented care, knowledge about the self in nursing would be crucial to further development and growth of the profession. However, the role of emotions in the formation of nursing professionals has been scarcely studied. One hundred and thirty five undergraduates from nursing studies voluntarily participated in our study. They completed a questionnaire that comprises several scales. Our results show positive correlations between the Clarity and Emotional Repair components of Perceived Emotional Intelligence and all scales of the self-concept scale. Furthermore, we found positive relationships between the Extraversion and Accountability components of personality with almost all the scales of the self-concept and negative relationships with personality and neuroticism components of the self-concept.

Workplace and personal factors associated with physical and mental health in hospital nurses in China

Limited research exists on the workplace and personal factors that might be associated with the physical and mental health of nurses working in China. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to examine, in Chinese hospital nurses, the most frequently occurring workplace stressor, the most often used coping strategy, and the relationships that exist among workplace stressors, coping strategies, psychological hardiness, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health. Four-hundred-and-eighty hospital nurses from five hospitals in three major Chinese cities were administered five self-report questionnaires. The findings indicated the most frequently cited workplace stressor was workload, while the most commonly used coping strategy was positive reappraisal. Numerous positive and negative correlations were found, suggesting the importance that workplace stress, coping strategies, psychological hardiness, and demographic characteristics play in relationship to each other, as well as to both the physical and mental health of Chinese nurses.

Predictors of physical and mental health in hospital nurses within the People's Republic of China

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Prior research has suggested that nurses contend with a variety of workplace stressors and personal factors that can contribute either positively or negatively to their physical and mental health. However, limited research in this area has been conducted on nurses within China.

AIM

The study sought to determine in Chinese hospital nurses: (a) the most common workplace stressors, (b) the most frequently used ways of coping with stress, and (c) which combination of variables (workplace stressors, ways of coping, psychological hardiness and demographic characteristics) was the best predictor of both physical health and mental health.

METHODS

The subjects were 480 nurses working in a variety of clinical settings, within five hospitals, located in three major mainland Chinese cities. A survey design was implemented using five self-report instruments.

RESULTS

Workplace stressors most frequently identified were workload and dealing with death and dying. Ways of coping most often cited were positive reappraisal, self-control and planful problem solving. The best predictors of physical health were psychological hardiness, conflict with other nurses, uncertainty about patient treatment, seeking social support and confrontive coping. The best predictors of mental health were psychological hardiness, conflict with other nurses, workload, seeking social support, age, likelihood to leave nursing within the next 12 months and escape-avoidance coping.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest areas of concern that need to be addressed, by both hospital and nursing administration, in order to establish a positive and productive work environment for Chinese nurses.

A longitudinal study of student and experienced nurses' self-concept

Researchers continue to emphasise the importance of professional identity or nurses' self-concept in the retention debate, although limited research has been undertaken on this specific issue. The purpose of this study was to capitalise upon recent advances in self-concept theory and measurement to identify, compare, and contrast the development of self-concept for graduate and experienced nurses. The Self Description Questionnaire III was used to assess four areas of general self-concept and a newly developed Nurses Self-Concept Questionnaire was used to assess six domains of self-concept specific to nursing. Student nurses completed instrumentation during their final year of a University course (N=506) and 6 months after graduation (N=110). Experienced nurses completed instrumentation at the end of the year (N=528) and eight months later (N=332). The results revealed that graduate self-concept was lower than experienced nurse self-concept in most domains at initial measurement (Time 1). Whilst some graduate self-concept domains demonstrated a rise in mean scores at eight months (Time 2), scores remained significantly lower overall than those of experienced nurses. The domain of Nurse General Self-Concept had fallen significantly from the student to graduate experience. Little change in the self-concept domains occurred over time for the experienced nurse group. The results provide valuable empirical evidence elucidating the development of nurses' self-concept. Key implications include the need to monitor self-concept development in graduate nurses and develop strategies for self-concept enhancement particularly for new graduates' Nurse General Self-Concept.

Cross-cultural comparison of workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental health among hospital nurses in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and the USA (Hawaii)

In an attempt to cross-culturally compare factors that may contribute to the nursing shortage within countries that have produced a limited number of research findings on role stress in nurses, this research examined work stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental health among hospital nurses from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the USA (Hawaii). Subjects (n = 1554 hospital-based nurses) were administered four self-report questionnaires: Demographic Questionnaire, "Nursing Stress Scale", "Ways of Coping Questionnaire" and "SF-36 Health Survey". Findings suggested that nurses indicated similar workplace stressors, ways of coping, and levels of physical and mental health. While subjects, across countries, demonstrated a variety of predictors of physical and mental health, several predictors were found to be the same. Cross-culturally the role of nurses may vary; however, certain factors are predictive of the status of hospital nurses' physical health and mental health.

Workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses

Role stress has always been a concern for nurses and health care administrators. Most research, however, on role stress in nurses has taken place in Western cultures. Limited research in the area has taken place in Asian cultures and particularly in the country of Japan. Since the role of the hospital nurse in Japan is vastly different from the role of the hospital nurse in Western cultures and select Asian cultures, it is unclear what part workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics play in the physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses. Therefore, this study chose to examine, in Japanese hospital nurses: (a) the relationships among various workplace stressors, ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health; and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of both physical and mental health. Data were obtained from 310 nurses who completed four questionnaires. Numerous significant correlations were found among the variables. Workload and number of people living in the household were found to be the best predictors of physical health. The best predictors of mental health were likelihood to leave the current nursing position, lack of support in the workplace, and escape-avoidance coping.

Adequacy of time per visit in community nursing

This article is a study of the experiences of community based nurses; specifically, their ratings of the adequacy of time they had to complete treatment and prevention activities. Perception of adequacy of time to complete job functions is important because of its links to job satisfaction and job stress. The largest predictor of a sense of inadequate time was visit characteristics. Specifically, it was the mental health speciality team which was most likely to experience inadequate time to deliver treatment and prevention activities. Possible explanations include the time required to deliver care to this patient population, and/or the greater travelling distances and coordination activities linked to provision of services to this patient population. Nurse characteristics were also important in the analysis. Nurses with an RN designation were less likely to report stress with the time they had to complete their activities. Years of community nursing experience was also an important predictor; individuals with greater community experience were less likely to report inadequate time for their duties.

Self-esteem and student nurses: a cross-cultural study of nursing students in Thailand and the UK

Self-esteem is a key feature in a person's perception of their own worth. This report is of a study of the reported self-esteem levels of two groups of student nurses: one in Thailand and one in the UK. Purposive samples of 120 Thai students and 101 UK undergraduate nursing students were given the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory (CFSEI-2). The CFSEI-2 is a self-reported inventory, which measures an individual's perception of self. The findings of the study indicate that the perceptions of own self-esteem in undergraduate student nurses in the UK and in Thailand were comparable to the normal ranges of self-esteem as assessed by the instrument. An independent sample t-test revealed that there were no significant differences in mean overall and subscale self-esteem scores between UK and Thai nursing students. There were no indications of differences in levels of self-esteem for UK and Thai nursing students experiencing different parts of their training.

Literature review of role stress/strain on nurses: an international perspective

The presence of role stress/strain among nurses has been of concern throughout the world. However, to date, no one has conducted, from an international perspective, a literature review of research on the topic. This article assesses research from 17 countries, identifies the major areas of focus in the studies, compares and contrasts the findings, summarizes the state of the science on role stress/strain on nurses and makes recommendations for future research.

Measuring nurses' self-concept

Little is known of nurses' self-concept in light of their professional identity or as working adults. This article explores the development and rigorous testing of a new self-concept instrument designed specifically for nurses. The new measure is based on the self-concept measurement theory of Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton. An expert panel was used to critique and aid refinement of the measure. The dimensions of nurses' self-concept were measured in six scales: General Nursing, Care, Staff Relations, Communication, Knowledge, and Leadership. Two groups participated in this study: Group 1 consisted of nursing students prior to graduation (n = 506) and Group 2 consisted of randomly selected, experienced, working nurses (n = 528). A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the fit of a priori models. The results indicate that all scales possess good construct validity and a satisfactory fit with the data.

Self-esteem and student nurses: an account of a descriptive study

In this paper the authors describe a study of nursing students' self-reported self-esteem levels using a validated instrument: the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory 2 (CFSEI-2). The research question was: How do student nurses rate their own self-esteem levels? The paper offers a short review of some of the literature, followed by a description of the sample (a convenience sample of 101 undergraduate nursing students), data collection and analysis methods and the findings. The self-esteem components of CFSEI-2 are general, personal and social and these terms are defined in the text of this paper. The findings indicated that the mean scores for this sample of nursing students fell within normal levels for all three components of self-esteem. Younger students were found to have higher scores for the social subscale, which indicates that they had a higher perception of the quality of their relationships with their peers. The findings of this study indicate that these undergraduate student nurses' perceptions of their self-esteem were comparable to the normal ranges of self-esteem as assessed by the instrument.