Mental health status of mental health nurses in China: Results from a national survey

Introduction It has been acknowledged in China that actions should be taken immediately to ease the critical shortage of psychiatric nurses. However, with national data lacking, little is known about nurses' mental health status. Aim To evaluate psychiatric nurses' mental health status by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing 2023-06, Vol.30 (3), p.547-557
Main Authors: Wang, Peicheng, Tang, Yi‐lang, Chen, Yanhua, He, Yanrong, Li, Lin, Han, Xinxin, Liu, Yuanli, Liu, Tingfang, Liu, Huanzhong, Jiang, Feng, Zhu, Jiming
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Burnout
Burnout, Professional - epidemiology
Burnout, Professional - psychology
China - epidemiology
depression
Health Status
Humans
Job Satisfaction
Mental depression
Mental Health
Nurses
psychiatric nurses
Stress
Surveys and Questionnaires
Working hours
work‐related mental health status
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Introduction It has been acknowledged in China that actions should be taken immediately to ease the critical shortage of psychiatric nurses. However, with national data lacking, little is known about nurses' mental health status. Aim To evaluate psychiatric nurses' mental health status by measuring their burnout, depression, anxiety and stress. Methods All psychiatric nurses in the 41 selected hospitals in China were invited to participate in the survey. The Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Human Service Survey and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale were used to assess variables of interest. Results 38.6% of psychiatric nurses met the criteria for burnout. The rates of depression, anxiety and stress were 26.3%, 36.4% and 12.5%, respectively. It was found that workplace region, educational level, working years, longer working hours and night shifts were associated with risk of burnout and DASS. Conclusions More than a quarter of psychiatric nurses are suffering from burnout, depression or anxiety in China. Policymakers and hospital administrators should design a flexible schedule and restrict working hours for psychiatric nurses to achieve work‐life balance. Implications for Practice The study informs policymakers and administrators on addressing the nursing shortage by identifying nurses immersed in negative emotions and preventing mental health problems.
ISSN:1351-0126
1365-2850
DOI:10.1111/jpm.12893