Predictors of professional quality of life among nursing staff following the Taiwan Formosa Fun Coast explosion.

PURPOSE: The Formosa Fun Coast Explosion was a major public disaster that caused international shock. Nursing staff made an all-out effort to care for patients injured in the explosion, and this may have caused a lot of stress among nurses. This study aimed to explore the predictors of professional quality of life among nursing staff experiencing major disaster events. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical center in Northern Taiwan in 2016. A total of 165 nurses were enrolled using convenience sampling. Data were collected on the demographic- and work-related characteristics of nurses, and the Perceived Stress Scale and Professional Quality of Life Scale were administered. Analyses included descriptive statistics and regression. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The nurses' length of service in nursing (ß=-0.26, p=0.029) and perceived stress level (ß=0.15, p=0.002) were important predictors of compassion satisfaction, while their age (ß=0.42, p=0.033) and perceived stress level (ß=0.20, p=0.020) were important predictors of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue was divided into burnout and secondary trauma. Nurses' age (ß=0.18, p=0.044) and perceived stress level (ß=0.14, p<0.001) were the key predictors of burnout. However, there were no significant predictors of secondary trauma among nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present findings, it is proposed to reduce the level of stress among nurses to improve their professional quality of life.

A Correlational Study of Acute Stress and Resilience Among Hospitalized Burn Victims Following the Taiwan Formosa Fun Coast Explosion.

Although the survival rate of burn patients in the Formosa Fun Coast Explosion disaster increased significantly, for patients facing long-term rehabilitation, there remained great stress. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the predictors of resilience among burn patients in this major disaster. We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive study in a medical center in northern Taiwan, with a total of 30 burn patients enrolled. Patients' demographics were collected, and the Resilience Scale and Perceived Stress Scale were administered. Multivariate statistical analysis by stepwise and linear regression was used to test these predictors of resilience. The results showed that perceived stress was the key predictor of resilience in the stepwise regression analysis and by adjusting variables including stress level, gender, and education level. These results indicate that the stress level of burn patients should be determined first to provide more targeted methods for reducing stress and improving resilience.

Influences of facial disfigurement and social support for psychosocial adjustment among patients with oral cancer in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influences of facial disfigurement and social support for psychosocial adjustment in patients with oral cancer. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used for the study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A convenience sample of 77 patients with oral cancer was recruited from the otolaryngology and oral and maxillofacial surgery outpatient clinics of three general hospitals in Taiwan. MEASURES: Data were collected using the study questionnaires, including the Facial Disfigurement Scale, the Social Support Scale and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale. RESULTS: The mean score on the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale was 413.01 (SD=32.32); 71.4% of the participants were maladjusted. Results of multiple regression analysis showed statistically significant main effects of tumour site (beta=0.37), facial disfigurement (beta=0.35) and social support (beta=-1.01), and the interaction effect of facial disfigurement and social support (beta=0.79) (all p<0.05) on psychosocial adjustment after controlling for other sociodemographic and clinical variables. All variables together explained 62% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment (F(16, 55)=14.98, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The level of psychosocial adjustment in patients with oral cancer was suboptimal. Poorer psychosocial adjustment was reported by patients with more severe facial disfigurement and less social support. Patients with cancers in other areas of the oral cavity also reported poorer psychosocial adjustment than patients with cancers in the buccal mucosa. Medical professionals may use these variables to identify higher risk groups for early intensive intervention.