Pediatric nurses' fatigue descriptions in occupational injury reports: A descriptive qualitative study1.

Background: Despite the high risks associated with occupational fatigue in healthcare, few organizations require nurses to screen and report fatigue symptoms. As a result, little is known about if and how nurses would report fatigue while on the job. Objective: To determine if hospital-based pediatric nurses reported fatigue as part of an active injury reporting method. Methods: This secondary analysis of qualitative data used a descriptive design with content analysis. Data from the parent study were collected at a U.S. pediatric hospital where nurses verbally reported on-shift injuries or near misses and pre- and post-shift health status via a digital voice recorder. Researchers used content analysis to independently code data for nurses' references to fatigue. Codes were then analyzed for patterns and themes. Results: Approximately 30% (n = 104) of participants reported fatigue-related content. Emergent themes were Work Stressors, Individual Risk Factors, Fatigue Descriptors, Adverse Outcomes from Fatigue, Fatigue Buffers, Descriptors for Buffered Fatigue, and Favorable Outcomes from Buffered Fatigue. Fatigue descriptions align with prior literature, demonstrating the accuracy of the voice recorder data collection method. In addition, nurses expressed uncertainty about the appropriateness of reporting fatigue symptoms. Conclusion: Findings from this study support pediatric nurses will report fatigue, when provided an opportunity. Additional efforts are needed to better understand effective ways to improve fatigue reporting among nurses, including harnessing current technology for real-time reporting and how to change the culture around fatigue reporting.

Unlocking Prevalence Data: Describing the Job Stress and Well-being of U.S. Correctional Nurses.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the health and well-being of U.S. correctional nurses. To protect correctional nurses, a better understanding of organizational characteristics, job stress, and well-being must be undertaken. METHOD: A cross-sectional design was used in the form of an online survey. Correctional nurses were conveniently recruited using national listservs and snowball sampling. Variables were measured with the Health & Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool, Nurse Wellbeing Index, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analyses of variance. FINDINGS: Two hundred seventy participants (142 registered nurses, 83 licensed practical nurses/licensed vocational nurses, and 42 advanced practice nurses) completed the survey. Job stress scored moderate (M = 16.26, SD = 7.14), and well-being levels were just below the risk for adverse events (M = 1.8, SD = 3.06). Lower scores were noted for managerial support (M = 3.13, SD = 0.35) and job demands (M = 3.56, SD = 0.92), but slightly better for job control (M = 3.57, SD = 0.77), peer support (M = 3.85, SD = 0.64), and workplace relationships (M = 3.73, SD = 0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences between organizational characteristics, job stress, and well-being were found across nursing licensure, workplace environments, biological sex, and employment through state or private agencies. Registered nurses working in U.S. prisons experienced the highest job stress and worse well-being. APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: This work is an essential next step in promoting healthy workspaces, urging the need for further research establishing the impact of organizational characteristics and job stress on nurse well-being.

Modeling wellbeing for U.S. correctional nurses: A cross sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Nurses work in stressful environments, and this stress has negative consequences on health. Correctional nurses experience unique job stress in their roles. However, there has been limited research exploring how the correctional environment impacts nurse health and wellbeing. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the variables of organizational characteristics (i.e., job demands, job control, manager support, peer support, workplace relationships), job stress, and wellbeing levels in a sample of U.S. correctional nurses, while exploring socio-demographic covariates. METHODS: Using a convenience sampling method, 270 U.S. correctional nurses completed a cross-sectional online survey. Informed by the Job Demands-Resources Theory, a conceptual model was created and tested in this sample. Analysis involved multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling. RESULTS: The model significantly fit the data (CI: 0.71-0.83, CFI = 0.51, SRMR: 0.37, and RMSEA = 0.08) revealing the direct relationship between job stress, job demands, job control, and workplace relationships and wellbeing. This study also provided evidence that job stress mediates the relationship of job control and job demands with wellbeing. CONCLUSION: Results underscore the opportunity for correctional organizations to consider targeting job demands, job control, workplace relationships, and job stress in future interventions to improve the correctional nursing work environment and support correctional nurse wellbeing. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: A recent study found evidence for a relationship between organizational characteristics & job stress and U.S. correctional nurse wellbeing.