The association between nurses’ burnout and objective care quality indicators: a cross-sectional survey in long-term care wards

BMC Nursing

Ayumi Igarashi¹  Noriko Yamamoto-Mitani¹  Sameh Eltaybani²  Ayako Ninomiya³ 

[1] Department of Gerontological Homecare and Long-term Care Nursing, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, 113-0033, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Gerontological Homecare and Long-term Care Nursing, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, 113-0033, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt;The Dia Foundation for Research on Ageing Societies, Tokyo, Japan;

关键词: Burnout, professional;    Cross-sectional studies;    Japan;    Long-term care;    Quality improvement;    Quality of health care;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12912-021-00552-z

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundWorldwide, rather few studies have examined the association between burnout and care quality using objectively measured quality indicators, with most of the studies have relied on perceived quality outcomes. This study aimed to examine the association between staff nurses’ burnout and selected objective quality metrics in long-term care wards in Japan.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey. Nurse managers and staff nurses working at randomly selected hospitals with long-term care wards—the equivalent of skilled nursing homes in Western countries— completed self-administered, anonymous questionnaires. The questionnaires collected data regarding care quality indicators, staff nurses’ burnout, and other confounders (e.g., ward size, participants’ years of experience, and patients’ conditions). All statistical analyses were conducted at the ward level. A multivariate regression analysis was used to examine associations between burnout and outcome indicators.ResultsData from 196 wards in 196 hospitals (196 nurse managers and 2473 staff nurses) across Japan were analyzed. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher emotional exhaustion was associated with higher rates of pneumonia and pressure ulcers (p-value = .036 and .032, respectively), and that reduced personal accomplishment was associated with higher rates of tube feeding (p-value = .018). A larger ward size was also associated with low rates of pneumonia (regression coefficient = −.001, p-value = .019).ConclusionsStaff nurses’ burnout is a significant determinant of care quality in long-term care wards, implying that organizations that implement burnout reducing strategies may see greater benefits in patient outcomes. A large ward size was significantly associated with better care outcomes—specifically, low rates of pneumonia. Future research needs to determine feasible quality improvement measures in small-scale long-term care facilities, and to provide more comprehensive insights on ward-level variables that influence care quality in long-term care settings.

【 授权许可】

CC BY