The impact of professional values on the quality of professional life among ICU nurses in China: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: ICU nurses in China experience substantial psychological stress due to understaffing, employment instability, and emotionally intensive care. While organizational factors have been studied, the role of intrinsic Nursing Occupational Values (NOV) in shaping Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) is underexplored. This study examined associations between NOV and ProQOL among ICU nurses and tested potential mediating mechanisms. METHODS: We conducted a multi-site cross-sectional study in 12 hospitals in Henan Province (January-March 2022). A convenience sample of ICU nurses (n = 356) completed the Chinese Nurses' Professional Values Scale (7 domains) and the Chinese ProQOL Scale (Compassion Satisfaction, Job Burnout, Secondary Trauma). Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, multiple linear regression adjusting for significant covariates (education, employment type, hospital level), and mediation models using bootstrapping (5,000 resamples; α = 0.05). RESULTS: NOV differed by education, professional title, employment type, income, hospital level, and marital status (all p < 0.05). Compassion Satisfaction was positively predicted by Leadership Attitude and Reward (β = 0.137, p = 0.037), Job Security (β = 0.086, p = 0.028), and Colleague Relationship (β = 0.284, p = 0.019). Job Burnout decreased with Intention of Career Choice (β = -0.164, p = 0.020) and Colleague Relationship (β = -0.308, p = 0.011) but increased with Nurse-Patient Relationship (β = 0.183, p = 0.040). Secondary Trauma increased with Nurse-Patient Relationship (β = 0.204, p = 0.044). Mediation analysis indicated that Job Security significantly mediated the effect of Leadership Attitude and Reward on Compassion Satisfaction (95% CI 0.01, 0.27). CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic professional values, especially Job Security, are associated with higher Compassion Satisfaction and lower Job Burnout among ICU nurses. Interventions that strengthen leadership support and employment stability may enhance nurse well-being and care quality in resource-constrained critical care settings.