The association of mindfulness with professional quality of life and negative emotional states among critical care nurses during COVID-19 pandemic

Impact of the MaRIS Model and Course Sequencing on Nursing Students' Empathy and Resilience: A Quasi-Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

Empathy and resilience are essential for nursing students to provide quality patient care and maintain well-being. However, structured interventions to develop these competencies remain limited.

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the mindfulness, affective reflection, impactive experience, and supportive and safe learning space (MaRIS) intervention in enhancing empathy and resilience and examined the impact of course sequencing relative to clinical placement.

METHODS

A 2-group, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was conducted with 65 nursing students in Taiwan. Group A (n = 29) completed the course before clinical placement, while group B (n = 36) completed it after. Empathy and resilience were assessed at 3 time points.

RESULTS

Empathy improved in both groups but was not significant. Group A showed significant resilience improvement 1-month post-intervention (P = .008).

CONCLUSIONS

The MaRIS intervention, particularly preplacement, enhances resilience and may improve nursing students' clinical readiness.

Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and mindfulness among healthcare professionals: A meta-analysis of correlational studies and randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND

Compassion fatigue is a pressing concern for healthcare professionals, impacting their well-being and the quality of service they deliver to service users. Mindfulness has emerged as a potential strategy to mitigate compassion fatigue among healthcare professionals. This meta-analysis aims to investigate the correlation between mindfulness and compassion fatigue/compassion satisfaction and the effect of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) on compassion fatigue/compassion satisfaction.

METHOD

7568 papers were identified through a systematic search in ProQuest, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, and MEDLINE. 78 correlational studies and 29 randomized controlled trials were screened-in for analysis. Study quality and data were coded for analysis.

RESULTS

Significant moderate negative correlation between mindfulness and compassion fatigue was found. Significant moderate positive correlation was also observed between mindfulness and compassion satisfaction. Older healthcare professionals and professionals working in non-acute settings were found to have stronger correlations between mindfulness and compassion satisfaction. From randomized controlled trial studies of MBI, moderate effect size was found for compassion fatigue, and small effect size was found for compassion satisfaction. Effects were found to be similar across settings.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis is the first synthesis of the relationship between compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction with mindfulness, as well as the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on these two variables among healthcare professionals. Future studies could consider investigating mediators of mindfulness-based interventions to understand possible mechanisms.

Effectiveness of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction in Pediatric Nurses

BACKGROUND

Unlike other medical practitioners, nurses working in pediatric intensive care units face uniquely challenging workplace conditions because they care for preterm newborns and critically ill patients. These workplace challenges led to increased compassion fatigue (i.e., burnout and secondary traumatic stress) and decreased compassion satisfaction. Compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction strongly influence the quality of care and patient outcomes, and these need to be addressed through effective interventions such as mindfulness-based interventions.

AIM

This study aimed to examine the impact of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction among pediatric intensive care nurses.

METHODS

A quasi experimental study with a pretest posttest design was used to recruit 204 nurses: 102 in the intervention group and 102 in the control group with randomization by hospital (n = 4). The brief mindfulness-based intervention was delivered over 6 weeks. Data were collected using a demographics questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life Scale, Version 5.

RESULTS

The intervention group's mean scores of burnout and secondary traumatic stress were significantly lower postinterventions compared with the control group. Similarly, the mean compassion satisfaction score for the intervention group indicated a significant improvement post-intervention compared with the control group. Additional evidence for the effectiveness of the intervention was the disappearance of low compassion satisfaction, high burnout, and high secondary traumatic stress categorizations postintervention in the intervention group, contrary to the control group.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION

Implementing brief mindfulness-based interventions can improve pediatric intensive care nurses' well-being by reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress while enhancing compassion satisfaction. By using the study's findings, nurse managers can make these practices essential for high-quality care and effective workforce management.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: ACTRN12622000389707.

Work stress and professional quality of life among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: the chain mediating role of self-compassion and benefit finding

BACKGROUND

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), front-line nurses have faced not only daily work stress but also a high risk of infection and excessive workload, leading to unsatisfactory professional quality of life (ProQOL). This study aimed to explore whether self-compassion (SC) and benefit finding (BF) play a chain mediating role between work stress and ProQOL among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

From March to April 2022, a sample of 13,936 Chinese nurses was recruited through snowball sampling. Demographic information, work stress, SC, BF, and ProQOL were assessed. The SPSS 25.0 software and Amos 24.0 software were used for statistical analysis. The bootstrap method was employed to construct and examine the chain mediating structural equation model.

RESULTS

The ProQOL level of Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was moderate. The overall fit indices for the compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) models were satisfactory (χ²/df = 2.486, 3.256, 2.553, RMSEA = 0.011, 0.014, 0.011, the GFI, AGFI, NFI, and CFI values were all above 0.90). Work stress had direct effects on CS, BO, and STS (β=-0.171, 0.334, 0.222, P < 0.001), and also indirectly affected these outcomes through SC (point estimate=-0.010, 0.021, 0.024, P < 0.001), BF (point estimate=-0.033, 0.015, - 0.011, P < 0.001), as well as their chain mediating effect (point estimate=-0.015, 0.006, - 0.005, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that SC and BF partially mediated the association between work stress and ProQOL in Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training on SC and BF may be crucial components of interventions aimed at improving ProQOL.

Empathy and ethical sensitivity among intensive and critical care nurses: A path analysis

BACKGROUND

Intensive and critical care nurses need to demonstrate ethical sensitivity especially in recognizing and dealing with ethical dilemmas particularly as they often care for patients living with life-threatening conditions. Theories suggest that there is a convergence between nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity. Evidence in the literature indicates that nurses' emotional, demographic, and work characteristics are associated with their level of empathy and ethical sensitivity.

AIM

To investigate the relationship between nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity, considering their emotional states (depression, anxiety, and stress), demographic and work characteristics, and test an empirical model describing potential predictors of empathy (as a mediator) and ethical sensitivity using path analysis.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Using a cross-sectional design, the philosophical theory of care ethics and empathy was extended and adopted as a conceptual framework for this study and tested by path analysis.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

Data were collected from 347 intensive care nurses recruited by ten educational-medical hospitals in Iran using a questionnaire between February and March 2021.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The study was reviewed by the Ethical Advisory Board in Iran and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

FINDINGS

Study participants demonstrated a mild level of stress, anxiety, and depression, alongside a relatively high level of empathy and ethical sensitivity. Nurses with good socioeconomic status had higher empathetic behavior with patients than those with weak status. Nurses aged over 40 who had received ethics training and had higher work experience were associated with higher ethical sensitivity compared to nurses under 20 years of age. Empathy directly affected ethical sensitivity; however, anxiety had an indirect effect on ethical sensitivity through empathy. Among demographic factors, age had a positive direct effect on ethical sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Less anxiety and a high level of empathy contribute to higher levels of ethical sensitivity among intensive and critical care nurses.

The Well-Being of Social Health Professionals: Relationship between Coping Strategies, Emotional Regulation, Metacognition and Quality of Professional Life

Social health professionals should have the knowledge and skills and use personal resources that promote the helping relationship, access to effective intervention strategies, and well-being at work. This study aims to investigate the relationship between some personal resources (coping strategies, emotional regulation and metacognition) and professional satisfaction in a group of social-health professionals working with minors suffering from psychosocial distress. In this professional group, the risk of burnout is common and the quality of professional life is strongly related to the intensity and frequency of exposure to critical and traumatic events. The sample was assessed using self-report instruments: Professional Quality of Life Scale, Coping Orientation to the Problem Experienced, Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale and Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale. The quality of professional life showed significant correlations with the psychological characteristics studied. We then tested different regression models: coping orientation scores were found to be a significant predictor of quality of work life for all three components, while emotional dysregulation scores appeared to predict only the burnout component. The quality of professional life of social health professionals was influenced by individual resources at different levels, regardless of knowledge and skills. They showed greater fatigue and aspects of secondary traumatization when emotional disengagement occurred and it seemed to be difficult for them to accept their emotional reactions.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on burnout and self-compassion among critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19: a quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

Workloads in intensive care units (ICUs) have increased and extremely challenging ethical dilemmas were generated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. ICU nurses experience high-stress levels and burnout worldwide. Egyptian studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) among ICU nurses are limited, although MBI has been shown to reduce stress and burnout.

METHODS

This quasi-experimental study included 60 nurses working in three hospitals in El-Beheira, Egypt. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the two groups: intervention or control (30 participants per group). The participants in the intervention group (MBI) received 8 MBI sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. The Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Self-Compassion Scale were used to assess the outcomes. Additionally, demographic and workplace data were collected.

RESULTS

The post-test score of emotional exhaustion after MBI for 8 weeks significantly decreased in the MBI group to 15.47 ± 4.44 compared with the control group with 32.43 ± 8.87 (p < 0.001). The total Self-Compassion Scale significantly increased because of the mindfulness sessions 94.50 ± 3.83 for the MBI group vs. 79.00 ± 4.57 for the control group (p < 0.001). The post-test score of the FFMQ significantly increased to 137.03 ± 5.93, while the control group's score decreased to 114.40 ± 7.44, following the MBI sessions (p < 0.001). As determined by Cohen's d test, the effect size of MBI training is quite large, on the three burnout scale dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement), as well as the total score of the mindfulness and self-compassion scales.

CONCLUSION

This study provides preliminary evidence that MBI sessions were effective in reducing emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and increasing levels of mindfulness and self-compassion among critical care nurses.

Authentic Leadership and Its Role in Registered Nurses' Mental Health and Experiences of Workplace Bullying

Introduction

Bullying is a widespread problem in healthcare organizations, resulting in nurses' poor mental health. Effective leadership, such as authentic leadership, may help to overcome this problem.

Objective

To examine the relationship between authentic leadership, workplace bullying, and nurses' mental health, controlling for demographic characteristics.

Methods

A descriptive correlational design was utilized with a sample of 170 nurses. Nurses were recruited from four private hospitals in Jordan and completed a survey about their perception of managers' authentic leadership, their experience of workplace bullying, and their mental health.

Results

About 48.8%, 25.9%, and 25.3% were categorized as "not bullied," "occasionally bullied," and "severely bullied," respectively. Participant nurses had mild depression (m = 12.11) and moderate anxiety (m = 10.92). Workplace bullying was higher among nurses who earn less than 600 Jordanian dinars and nurses working in the smallest hospital, with 130 beds. Authentic leadership explains 6% of the variance of workplace bullying, 3% of anxiety, 7% of stress, and 7% of depression above and beyond the variance explained by other variables.

Conclusions

Healthcare organizations are facing a challenge in providing a healthy work environment. Employing authentic leadership in the workplace could be one of the factors that could help in addressing this issue.

Prevalence of Compassion Fatigue and Its Association with Professional Identity in Junior College Nursing Interns: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The issue of compassion fatigue among clinical nurses has received considerable attention, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the current status of compassion fatigue among junior college nursing interns remains unclear. Additionally, professional identity can modulate the impact of compassion fatigue or burnout on psychological well-being; however, whether professional identity still works in this group is also unclear. This study aimed to reveal the current status of compassion fatigue among nursing interns in junior colleges and also investigate the association between compassion fatigue and professional identity. Methods: This cross-sectional survey evaluated the levels of participants' compassion fatigue (The Compassion Fatigue Short Scale) and professional identity (Professional Identity Scale) in 2256 nursing interns. Results: The mean score of compassion fatigue was 44.99, and 19.5% of the participants scored above The Compassion Fatigue Short Scale median scores for compassion fatigue. A moderate negative correlation was detected between compassion fatigue and professional identity. Conclusions: The level of compassion fatigue among nursing interns is low but nearly one in five nursing students is at risk of compassion fatigue. More attention should be paid to nursing interns with a high risk of compassion fatigue. Future studies are warranted to explore which pathways could mediate the relationship between professional identify and comparison fatigue.