A national survey of the nurses' mental health - The case of Portugal.

AIM: To understand Portuguese nurses' perceptions of their mental health. BACKGROUND: The impact of nurses' health and well-being on the quality and safety of the care they provide is well known. In Portugal, there are no representative studies regarding nurses' mental health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Transversal, analytical, and observational methods were used, with a quantitative approach. Participants answered questions through an online form. We collected data concerning social-professional characterization, general health status, and mental health. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was used. RESULTS: A total of 1264 nurses participated in a nonrandomized sample. Two-thirds revealed a negative perception of their mental health. Of these, 22.2% reported severe depression symptoms, 71.6% indicated significant somatic symptoms, 76% showed significant anxiety, and 94.1% presented some kind of social dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Better mental health is associated with being part of a larger household, enjoying more hours of sleep, having more free weekends, being male, working as a specialist, and engaging in leisure activities. Worse mental health is associated with being older, having a longer career, working more hours, and practicing in the hospital context. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The professionals' living and working conditions must be addressed by their managers.

Propriedades psicométricas do Questionário Geral de Saúde 28 itens em enfermeiros: proposta com 24 itens / Psychometric properties of the 28-Item General Health Questionnaire in nurses: a proposal with 24 items / Propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Salud General de 28 ítems en enfermeros: propuesta con 24 ítems

Resumo Enquadramento: A avaliação das propriedades psicométricas dos instrumentos de medida, quando aplicados em diferentes populações, é essencial. Objetivo: Analisar as propriedades psicométricas do Questionário de Saúde Geral 28 itens (GHQ28) em enfermeiros. Metodologia: Estudo metodológico de validação de instrumentos de medida. Análise das propriedades psicométricas, análise fatorial exploratória (AFE) pelo método dos componentes principais, e curva Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), com uma amostra não probabilística de 1.264 enfermeiros. Resultados: A AFE propõe a manutenção de 4 fatores e eliminação de 4 itens em 3 dimensões (item 3,16, 21,26). A variância explicada pelos 4 fatores foi 61,5% e o alfa de Cronbach 0,93. Os resultados de saúde geral não sofreram variabilidade significativa após se retirarem os 4 itens. A curva ROC, comparando a versão 24 itens com a de 28, revelou uma área sob a curva (AUC) de 0,996 (p < 0,001) e ponto de corte 20,5, com uma sensibilidade de 96,3% e especificidade de 98,4%. Conclusão: A reavaliação das propriedades psicométricas do GHQ28 em enfermeiros, sugere redução para 24 itens.

Abstract Background: The psychometric properties of measurement instruments should be assessed in different populations. Objective: To analyze the psychometric properties of the 28-Item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) in nurses. Methodology: Methodological validation study of measurement instruments. Analysis of psychometric properties, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by the principal component analysis method, and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, with a nonprobability sample of 1,264 nurses. Results: EFA suggests keeping four factors and deleting four items in three dimensions (items 3, 16, 21, and 26). The variance explained by the four factors was 61.5%, and Cronbach's alpha was 0.93. The general health scores did not change significantly after deleting the four items. The comparison between the 24-item version and the 28-item version revealed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.996 (p <0.001) and a cutoff point of 20.5, with a 96.3% sensitivity and a 98.4 specificity. Conclusion: The reassessment of the psychometric properties of GHQ-28 in nurses suggests a reduction to 24 items.

Resumen Marco contextual: La evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas de los instrumentos de medición, cuando se aplican en diferentes poblaciones, es esencial. Objetivo: Analizar las propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Salud General de 28 ítems (GHQ28) en enfermeros. Metodología: Estudio metodológico sobre la validación de instrumentos de medida. Análisis de las propiedades psicométricas, análisis factorial exploratorio (AFE) mediante el método de componentes principales y curva Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), con una muestra no probabilística de 1264 enfermeros. Resultados: La AFE propuso el mantenimiento de 4 factores y la eliminación de 4 ítems en 3 dimensiones (ítem 3, 16, 21, 26). La varianza explicada por los 4 factores fue del 61,5% y el alfa de Cronbach del 0,93. Los resultados de salud general no experimentaron una variabilidad significativa tras eliminar los 4 ítems. La curva ROC, que compara la versión de 24 ítems con la de 28, mostró un área bajo la curva (AUC) de 0,996 (p < 0,001) y un punto de corte de 20,5, con una sensibilidad del 96,3% y una especificidad del 98,4%. Conclusión: La reevaluación de las propiedades psicométricas del GHQ28 en enfermeros sugiere una reducción a 24 ítems.