Comparion of mental health of employed nurses in different types of hospitals

Abstract

Objective To investigate and compare mental health of employed nurses in private hospitals and public hospitals,so as to provide references for management of nursing human resources.Methods SCL-90 was used to investigate mental health of 315 employed nurses in private hospitals and 394 employed nurses in public hospitals,and compare their scores of each factor.Results The score of somatization,obsessivecompulsivesymptoms and interpersonal sensitivity in SCL-90 was respectively (1.32 ± 0.63),(1.52 ± 0.61),(1.22 ± 0.32) in nurses of private hospitals,higher than (1.22 ± 0.55),(0.95 ± 0.36),(0.53 ± 0.19) in nurses of public hospitals,and the differences were statistically significant (t =0.92,7.01,14.30,respectively;P ＜ 0.05).Scores of other factors in SCL-90 also had statistically significant differences between two types of hospitals (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Analysis on the psychological problems of employed nurses in private hospitals suggest that nurses' physical and psychological health is directly related to their work enthusiasm,initiative,subjective happiness,sense of job accomplishment and their control over self-understanding and interpersonal conflicts,thereby affecting the stability of the nursing team,the nursing quality and the satisfaction rate of patients.Hospital managers should take effective measures to maintain nurses' mental health,improve the management level of nursing human resources and promote the development of the hospital. Key words: Employed nurses; Mental health; Private hospital; Public hospital