Effects of a hospital‐based leisure activities programme on nurses' stress, self‐perceived anxiety and depression: A mixed methods study

AIMS: To determine the effects of a hospital-based leisure activities programme on nurses' stress, self-perceived anxiety and depression. BACKGROUND: Nursing work in clinical settings is highly stressful and may result in an increase in nurses' turnover rate, which threatens the quality of nursing care and patient safety. METHODS: We used a mixed methods design and a three-month intervention (January to April, 2019) involving a convenience sample of 176 nurses working at a Chinese tertiary hospital. We conducted 12 semi-structured interviews and performed a content analysis. The pre- and post-intervention comparisons of nurses' stress, self-perceived anxiety and depression were performed using a paired t test. RESULTS: The 3-month leisure activities programme significantly decreased nurses' job stress (t = 3.80, p < .01), perceived personal stress (t = 3.30, p < .01), self-perceived anxiety (t = 3.76, p < .01) and depression (t = 2.73, p < .01). The qualitative findings revealed five mechanisms linking leisure activities to subjective well-being: detachment recovery, autonomy, mastery, meaning and affiliation. CONCLUSIONS: A hospital-based leisure activities programme had a positive effect on job stress, self-perceived anxiety and depression, thus improving nurses' well-being. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: A hospital-based leisure activities programme provides a beneficial strategy for ameliorating nurses' psychosocial issues. Interventions aimed at facilitating or increasing nurses' participation in leisure activities are greatly needed.