Abstract
Background: Nursing professionals are exposed to stressful situations arising from the work context that may affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between sociodemographic and work-related variables regarding HRQoL in nursing professionals. Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The participants consisted 1521 nurses working in healthcare centres, in both primary care and hospital care, in the eight provinces of the Andalusian Public Health System (APHS), Spain. Sociodemographic and work-related variables were analysed: Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and burnout were measured using the professional quality of life questionnaire (ProQOL), and HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 health questionnaire. Results: Compassion fatigue, burnou, and, to a lesser extent, compassion satisfaction significantly influence the physical and mental components of HRQoL. The simple regression analysis showed that burnout and compassion fatigue were significantly associated with the mental component of HRQoL. Gender influenced the mental component of HRQoL. The rest of the sociodemographic and work-related variables were not significantly related to HRQoL. Conclusion: Work-related stress and repeated contact with situations of suffering influence HRQoL. Health systems must implement programmes to increase the emotional well-being of workers.
Highlights
Healthcare professionals face situations of intense psychological and emotional involvement in daily practice [1]
The sample size necessary was calculated based on the number of nurses who worked at the Andalusian Public Health System (APHS) in 2015 (N = 22,533) with a two-tailed 95% confidence interval, with an accuracy level of 3%, assuming that the expected burnout rate was 32.20% [26]
The scores for health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which was measured with the SF-12 questionnaire, were, on average, higher in the physical dimension than in the mental dimension, which is consistent with previous studies [32,33]
Summary
Healthcare professionals face situations of intense psychological and emotional involvement in daily practice [1]. Repeated contact with the suffering of patients and organisational aspects of their work context are considered risk factors affecting the psychological and emotional well-being of workers [2,3]. This scenario causes professionals to find themselves in situations of vulnerability [4] that may be conducive to the development of various mental conditions (stress, anxiety, fatigue, exhaustion) related to burnout syndrome and compassion fatigue [5]. Sociodemographic and work-related variables were analysed: Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and burnout were measured using the professional quality of life questionnaire (ProQOL), and HRQoL was measured using the SF-12 health questionnaire. Health systems must implement programmes to increase the emotional well-being of workers
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