Professional Quality of Life of hospital nurses: a cross-sectional study

Background Health care systems are struggling to meet the growing demands for nursing care due to a shrinking workforce. The interplay between workforce shortages, professional quality of life, and insufficient support structures threatens not only nurses’ well-being but also the quality of care. Addressing these factors is crucial to ensure the resilience of the nursing workforce and the quality of patient care. Objective To examine the levels of the three dimensions of Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL): compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) among hospital nurses in the Netherlands. Design Cross-sectional study Setting One academic hospital, four teaching hospitals and five general hospitals Participants 1017 nurses Methods Quality of life of the nurses was assessed using the ProQoL-5 questionnaire. Besides, social support was measured using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Additionally, we measured fear of making clinical errors on a 7-point Likert scale. Multivariable regression analysis was conducted to identify variables associated with the three subscales of ProQoL. Results Average age was 32.1 years (SD 11.9), and respondents had on average 11.7 years’ experience (SD 10.9). The majority were registered nurses (83.8%). 69% reported a moderate level of CS, 31% reported a high level. No nurses scored high on BO (64% low, and 36% moderate). 72% of nurses reported low-level STS, and 27.4% reported a moderate level. Multivariable analysis revealed that higher levels of CS were significantly associated with nurses with a specialized education, who considered working in health care in the future, older nurses, and nurses who perceived higher levels of social support from family, friends and significant others. Lower levels of burnout were associated with nurses with more experience, with specialized education, who considered working in health care in the future, who had low fear of making a professional error, and nurses who perceived higher levels of social support from family or friends. Lower levels of STS were significantly associated with male nurses, nurses who considered working in health care in the future, who had low fear of making a professional error, and nurses who perceived higher levels of social support from family or friends. Conclusions Nurses in Dutch hospitals report low to moderate levels of BO and STS, and high levels of CS and social support. Social support is associated with lower levels of BO and STS, and higher levels of CS, and may serve as a protective factor. Social media To promote professional quality of life, hospitals need to create a healthy work culture and foster an engaged, and productive workforce Registration not registered