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Nurse health‐related quality of life: associations with patient and ward characteristics in J apanese general acute care wards
Author(s) -
Oyama Yumiko,
Yonekura Yuki,
Fukahori Hiroki
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of nursing management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1365-2834
pISSN - 0966-0429
DOI - 10.1111/jonm.12207
Subject(s) - nursing , medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , nursing management , health care , mental health , surgical nursing , family medicine , primary nursing , nurse education , psychiatry , economics , economic growth
Aim To investigate the factors affecting nurse health‐related quality of life ( HRQOL ) by considering the patient characteristics and ward characteristics. Background Nurse health‐related quality of life is an important health outcome, and should be promoted for quality nursing care. Method This cross‐sectional study was conducted on nurses who work in general acute care wards in three university hospitals in metropolitan Japan. Multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate possible factors related to nurse health‐related quality of life. Result Nurses who worked at a ward had a significantly lower physical health score (β = −0.13, P < 0.01). These nurses had a higher ratio of patients who could not understand medical instructions, had cognitive disabilities, or required assistance with activities of daily living ( ADL ). The number of beds was the only factor significantly related to mental health status of nurses (β = 0.19, P < 0.05). Conclusion Work conditions that sustain nurse health should take into account not only the number of nurses, but also patient characteristics. Further large‐scale studies are needed in order to investigate the effect of hospital characteristics on nurse health‐related quality of life. Implications for nursing management Increasing the number of nurses' aides and delegating assistance with ADL to them could support nurse health‐related quality of life in the acute care setting.