Predictors and outcomes of work-family conflict among nurses.

BACKGROUND: Work-family conflict, an issue important to nursing management, has been examined extensively worldwide. With an increasing number of nurses leaving and intending to leave the country, and considering the traditional family arrangement, it is increasingly relevant to examine the precursors and outcomes of work-family conflict among Filipino nurses. AIM: To identify the predictors of work-family conflict and its relationship to Filipino nurses' work outcomes and perceived quality of care. METHODS: A descriptive research design was utilized to collect data from one thousand one hundred (n = 1010) registered nurses with more than three months of experience working in the hospital using the Work-Family Conflict Scale, Job Satisfaction Index, Perceived Stress Scale, the two single-item measures of turnover intention, and a single-item measure of care quality. RESULTS: Filipino nurses experience moderate levels of work-family conflict. Nurses' age, education, facility size, and hospital location predicted work-family conflict. Work-family predicted job satisfaction, job stress, intention to leave the organization, and perceived quality of care. CONCLUSIONS: In accordance with international studies, Filipino nurses experience significant levels of work-family conflict. Addressing work-family conflict may result in improved work outcomes and increased care quality rating. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND POLICY: Organizational measures to address work-family conflict in nurses should take into account the different predictors identified, particularly those that are modifiable. Nurses' work outcomes and care quality can be improved by employing empirically based measures to effectively address work-family conflict.

Predictors of nurses' turnover intention at one and five years' time.

AIM: This study examined the role of job dimensions, job satisfaction, psychological stress and job burnout in predicting turnover intention at one and five years' time among professional nurses in the Philippines. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was utilized in the study using a convenience sample of 549 registered nurses from six hospitals in the Central Philippines during the period of October 2018 to January 2019. Five self-report scales were used in this study. RESULTS: Overall, 46.1% (n = 253) and 78.9% (n = 433) of nurses reported planning to leave the organization at one and five years' time, respectively. The type of hospital, job satisfaction and job burnout explained variances for turnover intention at one and five years' time. Separately, hospital bed capacity and job stress predicted turnover intention at five years' time. None of the job dimensions accurately predicted turnover intention in nurses. CONCLUSION: Higher turnover intention results at one and five years' time were dependent on nurses' psychological stress, job burnout and job satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND POLICY: Organizational measures aimed at reducing stress and burnout and increasing job satisfaction in nurses are critically important to enhance the retention of nurses and ensure continued quality of nursing care.

Disaster preparedness among nurses: a systematic review of literature.

AIM: This review explored peer-reviewed publications that measure nurses' preparedness for disaster response. BACKGROUND: The increasing frequency of disasters worldwide necessitates nurses to adequately prepare to respond to disasters to mitigate the negative consequences of the event on the affected population. Despite growing initiatives to prepare nurses for any disasters, evidence suggests they are under prepared for disaster response. METHODS: This is a systematic review of scientific articles conducted from 2006 to 2016 on nurses' preparedness for disasters. SCOPUS, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL and PsychINFO were the primary databases utilized for search of literature. Keywords used in this review were as follows: 'emergency', 'disaster', 'disaster preparedness', 'disaster competencies', 'disaster nursing', 'disaster role' and 'nurse'. Seventeen (17) articles were selected for this review. FINDINGS: Factors that increase preparedness for disaster response include previous disaster response experience and disaster-related training. However, it is widely reported that nurses are insufficiently prepared and do not feel confident responding effectively to disasters. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review contribute to a growing body of knowledge regarding disaster preparedness in nurses and have implications for academia, hospital administration and nursing educators. The findings of this review provide evidence that could be used by nurse educators and nurse administrators to better prepare nurses for disaster response. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: The findings from this review place an emphasis on hospitals to implement policies to address lack of preparedness among their employees. Furthermore, this review highlights the benefit of further research and provision of well-grounded disaster exercises that mimic actual events to enhance the preparedness of the nursing workforce.

Job stress in new nurses during the transition period: an integrative review.

AIM: This review appraised and synthesized evidence relating to new nurses' stress experiences during the transition period. BACKGROUND: Although stress among nursing professionals has been a subject of several systematic reviews in the recent years, there is still scarcity of systematic evidence examining job stress in new nurses. METHODS: This is an integrative review of original studies conducted from 2002 onwards examining new nurses' stress experiences. Five databases were used to retrieve relevant articles such as CINAHL, SCOPUS, PubMed, PsycINFO and MEDLINE. Twenty-one articles were included in this review. FINDINGS: New nurses perceived low to moderate levels of stress mainly from heavy workloads and lack of professional nursing competence. Individual and organizational factors that might contribute to their stress experiences were rarely explored. CONCLUSION: This integrative review evaluated and synthesized available evidence examining stress in new nurses and contributed to the literature regarding stress in nursing professionals. The findings of this review may offer specific information to nurse administrators that can relate to the stress encountered by new nurses who enter into healthcare facilities. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: Findings of this review may provide valuable input to assist nurse administrators in developing and implementing organizational measures to reduce stress in new nurses while maximizing and facilitating their integration into the nursing workforce. Such measures may include the following: establishment of a well-structured transition programme, provision of an adequate orientation and senior staff mentorship, stress management programmes, in-service educational programmes and exposure to clinical simulation scenarios.

A systematic review on hand hygiene knowledge and compliance in student nurses.

BACKGROUND: Hand hygiene competence is one of the critical outcomes in nursing education. Ensuring nursing students recognize the what, when and how of hand hygiene is critical in the light of the increasing rates of healthcare-associated infections. AIM: To systematically appraise and synthesize articles on hand hygiene knowledge and compliance among nursing students. METHODS: This is a systematic review of scientific articles published from 2006 to 2016. The primary databases used were as follows: PubMed, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature, Proquest and PsychINFO. Key search terms utilized were as follows: 'handwashing', 'hand hygiene', 'compliance', 'knowledge', 'practice' and 'nursing students'. FINDINGS: Nineteen studies met the review criteria. The findings revealed a low-to-moderate knowledge of and compliance with hand hygiene among nursing students. In addition, there were significantly higher rates of hand hygiene compliance in nursing students when compared to medical students. Relatively few studies attempted to identify predictors of hand hygiene knowledge and compliance. CONCLUSION: This review demonstrated suboptimal knowledge and compliance to hand hygiene among student nurses. In addition, this review also highlighted the paucity of studies that examined individual and organizational factors, which influence nursing students hand hygiene knowledge and compliance. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND POLICY: The findings of this review emphasized the role of nurse educators in enhancing hand hygiene competence in nursing students. Implementation of empirically tested strategies such as utilizing multidimensional interventions, scenario-based hand hygiene simulation activities and hand hygiene education programmes that would enhance nursing students' hand hygiene knowledge and compliance is an asset. Hospital and nursing administrators should ensure continuous support and monitoring to guarantee that hand hygiene programmes are institutionalized in every healthcare setting by every healthcare worker.

An integrative review on coping skills in nursing students: implications for policymaking.

AIM: This study critically appraised both quantitative and qualitative studies describing coping strategies utilized by nursing students when faced with stress. BACKGROUND: Stress in nursing students during clinical training is well documented in the nursing literature. The need to utilize positive-coping strategies is necessary to effectively deal with stress and its accompanying stressors. METHODS: An integrative review method was used in this review. PsycINFO, PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), MEDLINE and Scopus were the databases used in searching for relevant literature using the following search terms; 'coping', 'nursing students', clinical training', 'ways of coping' and 'clinical practice'. A total of 27 studies published from 2001 to 2016 were included in this review. FINDINGS: Findings demonstrated that nursing students utilized problem-focused coping strategies rather than emotion-focused coping strategies. Specific coping behaviours utilized included problem-solving behaviours, self-confident approaches and seeking of support from family and friends. CONCLUSION: The review contributes to the growing literature on coping strategies in nursing students and may have implications on nursing education and nursing policy. This review also demonstrated a scarcity of studies that links specific coping strategies to nursing school stressors and examines predictors of coping skills in nursing students. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING EDUCATION: Institutionalization of structured student orientation programme, implementation of well-planned mentoring programmes and establishment of support unit/centres may be helpful in supporting nursing students during their clinical placement. By developing empirically based interventions, nursing faculty can assist nursing students in strengthening their positive-coping skills to effectively deal with various stressors encountered.

Organizational politics, nurses' stress, burnout levels, turnover intention and job satisfaction.

AIM: This is a research report examining the influence of organizational politics perceptions on nurses' work outcomes (job satisfaction, work stress, job burnout and turnover intention). BACKGROUND: Organizational politics is a phenomenon common in almost all institutions and is linked with undesirable consequences in employees. INTRODUCTION: Despite the plethora of research around the world on this topic, studies describing organizational politics in nursing remain underexplored. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study. One hundred sixty-six (166) nurses participated. Five standardized tools were used: the Job Satisfaction Index, the Job Stress Scale, the Burnout Measure Scale, the Turnover Intention Inventory Scale and the Perception of Organizational Politics Scale. RESULTS: Nurses employed both in private and government-owned hospitals perceived moderate levels of organizational politics. Positive correlations were identified between perceived organizational politics and job stress, turnover intention and job burnout. Negative correlations were found between perceived organizational politics and job satisfaction. DISCUSSION: Perceptions of workplace politics in Filipino nurses were lower when compared to findings in other international studies. A strong link was found between organizational politics perceptions and the four job outcomes (stress and burnout levels, turnover intention and job satisfaction). LIMITATIONS: Use of a self-reporting questionnaire and exclusion of nurses from other provinces. CONCLUSION: Perceived organizational politics predicted nurses' stress and burnout levels, turnover intention and job satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND/OR HEALTH POLICY: The findings of this study may provide a valuable perspective of this organizational issue and could assist policymakers and nurse administrators in formulating interventions that could minimize the effect of workplace politics.