Association of sense of coherence, job stress and professional quality of life in emergency nurses: a multicenter cross-sectional study

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Background: It is global issue that emergency nurses exhibit a high turnover rate due to excessive job stress and impaired professional quality of life (ProQOL). While sense of coherence (SOC), as a salutogenic psychological resource, may mediate these associations, its mediating role requires further exploration. Objective: To examine job stress, SOC, and ProQOL levels among Chinese emergency nurses and investigate the mediating effect of SOC between job stress and ProQOL. Methods: From May to August 2024, a total of 280 emergency nurses from four tertiary hospitals in Beijing, China were surveyed using a demographic questionnaire, the Chinese Nurse Job Stressors Questionnaire, the Professional Quality of Life Scale, and the Sense of Coherence Scale. Pearson correlation analyses, and structural equation modeling were conducted to examine the mediating role of SOC in the relationship between job stress and ProQOL. SOC partially mediated the associations between job stress and Compassion Satisfaction [indirect effect = -0.147, 95% CI (-0.214, -0.095)], Burnout [indirect effect = 0.089, 95% CI (0.042, 0.146)], and Compassion fatigue [indirect effect = 0.098, 95% CI (0.046, 0.158)]. Conclusions: This study indicates that SOC partially mediated the relationship between job stress and ProQOL. Enhancing SOC may be beneficial for improving the job satisfaction and well-being of emergency nurses.