Gender-Based Differences in the Relationships Among Social Support, Positive Psychological Capital, and Sleep Quality in Patients Implanted With Pacemakers: A Moderated Mediation Model

Better and Healthier Together? The Mediation Effect of Positive Psychological Capital on the Relationship Between Perceived Social Support and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Older Adults

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the mediating effects of positive psychological capital (both as compound PsyCap and separate resources) in the relationship between social support and the two components of HRQoL: physical and mental health. Method: We conducted the current cross-sectional study on a sample of 319 participants (114 male; 205 female) aged 65 to 90. Results: The results indicated significant positive associations between social support, PsyCap, physical health and mental health. Compound PsyCap fully mediated the relationship between perceived social support and physical/mental health. Hope and optimism positively predicted physical health, while the same PsyCap resources, along with self-efficacy positively predicted mental health. Discussion: The retirees that perceived increased social support presented higher levels of PsyCap, which in turn increased their physical and mental health. Our results highlighted some new explanatory mechanisms regarding the relationships between variables that affect health-related quality of life among older adults.

Psychological capital and alienation among patients with COVID-19 infection: the mediating role of social support

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 infection continues all over the world, causing serious physical and psychological impacts to patients. Patients with COVID-19 infection suffer from various negative emotional experiences such as anxiety, depression, mania, and alienation, which seriously affect their normal life and is detrimental to the prognosis. Our study is aimed to investigate the effect of psychological capital on alienation among patients with COVID-19 and the mediating role of social support in this relationship.

METHODS

The data were collected in China by the convenient sampling. A sample of 259 COVID-19 patients completed the psychological capital, social support and social alienation scale and the structural equation model was adopted to verify the research hypotheses.

RESULTS

Psychological capital was significantly and negatively related to the COVID-19 patients' social alienation (p < .01). And social support partially mediated the correlation between psychological capital and patients' social alienation (p < .01).

CONCLUSION

Psychological capital is critical to predicting COVID-19 patients' social alienation. Social support plays an intermediary role and explains how psychological capital alleviates the sense of social alienation among patients with COVID-19 infection.

The relationship between psychosocial job stressors and insomnia: The mediating role of psychological capital

AIM

This study aimed to examine the association of job-related stressors and insomnia; to determine the association of psychological capital and insomnia; and to explore whether psychological capital mediates the association between job-related stressors and insomnia among Chinese nurses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

METHODS

The STROBE statement was utilized to guide the study. A total of 810 nurses from one tertiary grade hospital in Shan Dong Province, China, were recruited for the present study and a total of 658 valid questionnaires were obtained (effective recovery rate: 81.2%). The study survey consisted of demographic variables, psychological capital, job stress and insomnia. Descriptive analysis, independent-samples T-test, one-way analysis of variance, stratified regression analysis, Pearson correlation analyses, ordinary least-squares regression and the bootstrap method were used to analyse data.

RESULTS

Findings of the study determined that demographic, work-related, behavioural and work setting (i.e. working hours, chronic disease, negative life events, smoking behaviour and night shift) factors were differentially associated with experiences of insomnia. The empirical study showed that psychological capital had statistically significant mediating effects between job stressors and insomnia.

PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

This study explored the factors associated with nurses' psychological job stressors and insomnia. Some of the associated factors could be used for the prevention and mitigation of psychosocial dysfunction among nurses. This study found nurses in surgery, emergency department, ICU, working >40 h a week, with chronic illness, experiencing negative life events, shift work and high effort, high overcommitment and low reward had higher scores of insomnia respectively. The results of this study also showed that reward was correlated with the increase of psychological capital, and the increase of psychological capital was correlated with the decrease of insomnia in nurses. On the contrary, effort and overcommitment decreased psychological capital, and then increased insomnia among nurses. These findings have important implications for future research and policy interventions to improve sleep quality of nurses and enhance nurses' health and patients' safety. This study significantly suggests that improving nurses' psychological capital is a potential way to help nurses improve sleep quality when psychosocial job stressors are difficult external environment to change.

The relationship between perceived organizational support and insomnia in Chinese nurses: The Serial multiple mediation analysis

Background

Nurses are in high-pressure, high-load, and high-risk environment for a long time, and their insomnia cannot be ignored. Insomnia not only has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of nurses, but also on the efficiency and quality of nursing work.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the multiple mediating effect of psychological capital, effort-reward ratio, and overcommitment in the relationship between perceived organizational support and insomnia among Chinese nurses.

Methods

A cross-sectional study has been carried out in a tertiary grade A hospital in Shandong Province, China from March 2021 to May 2021. The demographic questionnaire, Perceived Organization Support Questionnaire, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Chinese version Effort-Reward Imbalance, Questionnaire and Athens Insomnia Scale were used for data collection. SPSS PROCESS 3.4 macro program developed by Hayes was used to test the serial multiple mediation. Descriptive analysis, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation analyses, ordinary least-squares regression, and the bootstrap method were used for data analysis.

Results

658 valid questionnaires were collected (81.2%). Nurses' perceived organizational support was positively correlated with psychological capital (r = 0.455, p < 0.001), and was significantly negatively correlated with effort-reward ratio (r = -0.318, p < 0.001), overcommitment (r = -0.328, p < 0.001), and insomnia (r = -0.358, p < 0.001); Psychological capital was negatively correlated with effort-reward ratio (r = -0.275, p < 0.001), overcommitment (r = -0.339, p < 0.001), and insomnia (r = -0.402, p < 0.001), respectively; effort-reward ratio and overcommitment were significantly positively correlated with insomnia (r = 0.379, p < 0.001; r = 0.466, p < 0.001), respectively. In the model of perceived organizational support-psychological capital-effort-reward ratio-insomnia, the overall mediating effect was -0.080 (95%CI: -0.109 ~ -0.058), and the mediating effect of psychological capital was -0.050, accounting for 34.30% of the total effect; the mediating effect of effort-reward ratio was -0.024, accounting for 16.49% of the total effect; the chain mediating effect of psychological capital and effort-reward ratio was -0.007, accounting for 4.49% of the total effect. In the model of perceived organizational support-psychological capital-overcommitment-insomnia, the overall mediating effect was -0.085 (95%CI: -0.109 ~ -0.064), and the mediating effect of psychological capital was -0.042, accounting for 28.64% of the total effect; the mediating effect of overcommitment was -0.029, accounting for 19.81% of the total effect; the chain mediating effect of psychological capital and overcommitment was -0.015, accounting for 10.14% of the total effect.

Conclusion

Perceived organizational support had direct negative influence on insomnia. Psychological capital and effort-reward ratio/overcommitment acted as chained mediating factor could partially relieve insomnia symptoms related to perceived organizational support. It is suggested to improve the level of organizational support and psychological capital of nurses, and reduce the effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment of nurses, so as to effectively decline and deal with nurses' insomnia.

Patient Perceptions and Quality of Life in Pacemaker Recipients

Quality of life (QoL) reflects the multidimensional impact of a clinical condition and its treatment on patients’ daily lives. Although permanent cardiac pacemakers (PPMs) have made a significant contribution to the improvement of patients’ QoL, patients’ perceptions remain crucial after implantation. Hence, the present study was carried out to explore the QoL and the associated perceptions of PPM patients. A total of 150 PPM patients were enrolled. Data were collected using the Short Form–36 (SF-36) health survey, which also included patients’ characteristics. The statistical significance level was set at p < 0.05. The physical health score as measured by SF-36 was 42.9 ± 19.5 points, and the mental health score was 54.1 ± 26.6 points. Study participants had higher scores in emotional well-being (66.5 ± 18.8 points), and the lowest scores were in physical functioning (22.5 ± 10.7 points). The level of information about PPM was associated with physical role (p = 0.005), emotional role (p = 0.004), emotional well-being (p = 0.001), social functioning (p = 0.002), and general health (p = 0.001). Attendance at follow-up was associated with physical role (p = 0.015), emotional role (p = 0.014), social functioning (p = 0.003), and general health (p = 0.016). The belief that the device prevents disease deterioration was associated with physical role (p = 0.005), emotional role (p = 0.001), energy/fatigue (p = 0.010), emotional well-being (p = 0.004), social functioning (p = 0.001), pain (p = 0.005), and general health (p = 0.001). Dependency on the device was associated with energy/fatigue (p = 0.006), emotional well-being (p = 0.001), and social functioning (p = 0.002). Social difficulties due to the device were associated with emotional well-being (p = 0.001), social functioning (p = 0.001), pain (p = 0.001), and general health (p = 0.004). Family support was associated with emotional role (p = 0.023) and general health (p = 0.036), while pain was associated with information about the family (p = 0.001). In conclusion, the present findings regarding factors associated with QoL provide key opportunities for interventions aimed at facilitating positive adjustments after PPM implantation.

Mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between social support and treatment burden among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

This study was conducted to investigate the connection between social support and the treatment burden among older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to examine the mediating role of psychological capital within that connection. Although treatment burden is common, the current data on social support associated with it is limited, and the theoretical mechanisms underlying the relationship between the two variables have not yet been clarified. A total of 245 older outpatients with COPD were recruited. Descriptive and Structural Equation Modelling was employed to test the hypothesised model using SPSS 26 and IBM SPSS AMOS 26. The modified model yielded an adequate fit to the data. The variation in the treatment burden explained by the hypothetical model was 57.2%. The study provides a new perspective for medical professionals to manage the treatment burden by developing efficient social support and psychological capital measures.