Professional quality of life among intensive care unit nurses in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Stressful and challenging intensive care settings may influence nurses’ professional quality of life (ProQOL), in terms of job satisfaction, burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS). Aims: This study aimed to measure the ProQOL of critical care nurses, and its association with sociodemographic variables. Settings and Design: The study was conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary referral hospital in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional design utilizing the self-administered ProQOL 5.0 questionnaire composed of three subscales for compassion satisfaction (CS), BO, and STS. Statistical Analysis: scores of the three subscales of the ProQOL questionnaire were presented as mean and standard deviation, and their association with categorical sociodemographic variables was explored using analysis of variance or Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: With a response rate of 48.4%, the majority of nurses were in the moderate category of all three subscales of the questionnaire, with mean scores of CS, BO, and STS of 35.8 ± 6.6, 27 ± 4.4, and 23.9 ± 8.7, respectively. Higher levels of education and longer experience were significantly associated with lower STS scores. Conclusion: Moderate levels of all subscales of ProQOL prevail in our ICU. Longer experience and higher educational levels may be significant factors in minimizing STS.