Work stress and professional quality of life among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: the chain mediating role of self-compassion and benefit finding

Abstract

Abstract Background Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), front-line nurses have faced not only daily work stress but also a high risk of infection and excessive workload, leading to unsatisfactory professional quality of life (ProQOL). This study aimed to explore whether self-compassion (SC) and benefit finding (BF) play a chain mediating role between work stress and ProQOL among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods From March to April 2022, a sample of 13,936 Chinese nurses was recruited through snowball sampling. Demographic information, work stress, SC, BF, and ProQOL were assessed. The SPSS 25.0 software and Amos 24.0 software were used for statistical analysis. The bootstrap method was employed to construct and examine the chain mediating structural equation model. Results The ProQOL level of Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was moderate. The overall fit indices for the compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS) models were satisfactory (χ²/df = 2.486, 3.256, 2.553, RMSEA = 0.011, 0.014, 0.011, the GFI, AGFI, NFI, and CFI values were all above 0.90). Work stress had direct effects on CS, BO, and STS (β=–0.171, 0.334, 0.222, P < 0.001), and also indirectly affected these outcomes through SC (point estimate=–0.010, 0.021, 0.024, P < 0.001), BF (point estimate=–0.033, 0.015, − 0.011, P < 0.001), as well as their chain mediating effect (point estimate=–0.015, 0.006, − 0.005, P < 0.001). Conclusions Our study suggests that SC and BF partially mediated the association between work stress and ProQOL in Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training on SC and BF may be crucial components of interventions aimed at improving ProQOL.

Keywords

• Work stress
• Professional quality of life
• Chinese nurses
• Chain mediation model