Psychological Work Environment and Suicidal Ideation Among Nurses in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: Nurses are exposed to a poor psychological work environment; this may cause poor mental health, which is a risk factor for suicidal ideation. We investigated the association between psychological work environment and suicidal ideation among hospital nurses in Taiwan. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Taiwan female nurses using stratified sampling by region (north, central, south, and east) to select representative centers for this study. METHODS: A self-report questionnaire including items on demographic data, the psychological work environment, and suicidal ideation was sent to nurses working in hospitals. Multiple logistic regression and population attributable risk analyses were performed to assess the effect of the psychological work environment on suicidal ideation. FINDINGS: A total of 2,734 eligible questionnaires (76.8%) were returned. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 18.3%, and higher risk was found to be associated with the educational level of junior college or below, higher personal burnout, higher client-related burnout, and always feeling stressed at work. Estimation of population attributable risk showed that higher personal burnout, client-related burnout, and always feeling stressed at work were the most crucial factors among nurses, accounting for 19.4%, 8.6%, and 10.5% of suicidal ideation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable proportion of nurses developed suicidal ideation. A poor psychological work environment was a relevant factor for suicidal ideation. CLINICAL EVIDENCE: This study provides relevant knowledge for nursing management levels in preventing the development of suicidal ideation among nurses. Not only for nurses' mental health, but for patient safety and care quality, further studies in improving nurses' psychological work environment are warranted.

Pilot Studies of VOC Exposure Profiles during Surgical Operations.

Volatile organic chemical exposure resulting from surgical operations is common in operating room personnel. The potential risk of long-term exposure to these low-level chemicals is always a concern. This study was conducted in an area hospital located in northern Taiwan to investigate the internal exposure scenario for operating room personnel. Breath samples were collected before and after surgery, whereas area samples were collected during the surgeries in process. There were 18 volatile organic compounds identified in the samples with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The average concentrations of sevoflurane (P = 0.0082), dimethyl sulfide (P = 0.0550), and methyl methacrylate (P = 0.0606) in breath samples collected after surgical operations were significantly higher compared to those obtained before surgical operations, whereas only slight elevations were present for benzene and hexamethyldisiloxane (P < 0.100). In addition, electrosurgical smoke-related chemicals, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m/p-xylene, also presented higher levels in operating room samples compared to the control area. Specifically, the findings in this preliminary study suggested the associations of elevated exposure to sevoflurane across various surgeries to methyl methacrylate with orthopedic surgery and to hexamethyldisiloxane with conventional electrosurgical units. Future study is warranted to explore the short-term high-level chemical exposure in operating rooms and to propose effective preventive measures accordingly to keep any exposure to chemicals at the lowest practical level.

Patient-Nurse Ratio is Related to Nurses' Intention to Leave Their Job through Mediating Factors of Burnout and Job Dissatisfaction.

In healthcare settings, nurses' workload, burnout, and job satisfaction are associated to the patient-nurse ratio. Whether this ratio also affects their intention to leave the nursing profession, along with the underlying stress pathway, remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the patient-nurse ratio on nurses' intention to leave and considering the mediating roles of burnout and job dissatisfaction. The study analyzed the data of two pooled cross-sectional surveys collected in 2013 and 2014. Measures were obtained by a structure questionnaire, which queried the average daily patient-nurse ratio (ADPNR), nurses' personal burnout, client-related burnout, job dissatisfaction, intention to leave, and other demographics. ADPNRs were standardized according to hospital levels. Multiple regression models examined mediation hypotheses, and a percentile bootstrap confidence interval was applied to determine the significance of indirect effects. A total of 1409 full-time registered nurses in medical and surgical wards of 24 secondary or tertiary hospitals in Taiwan completed self-administered questionnaires. Most of the participants were female (97.2%), and the mean age was 29.9 years. The association between the standardized ADPNR and intention to leave their job was significantly mediated by personal burnout, client-related burnout, and job dissatisfaction. Higher standardized ADPNRs predicted higher levels of personal burnout, client-related burnout, and job dissatisfaction, each of which resulted in higher levels of intention to leave the current job. The results highlight that appropriate patient-nurse ratio standards may be further discussed by selecting personal burnout, client-related burnout, and job dissatisfaction as indicators.