Relationship among the nursing practice environment, occupational career, and work engagement of Chinese nurses employed in Japan: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Work engagement is a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption, and it affects the quality of care nurses give. Chinese nurses working in Japan experience differences in nursing practice and difficulties in career development. Therefore, the nursing practice environment and occupational career may affect their work engagement. However, little research has been completed on the factors affecting Chinese nurses' work engagement in Japan. Objective: To clarify the relationship between the nursing practice environment, occupational career, and work engagement of Chinese nurses in Japan. Design: A cross-sectional study. Setting(s): Japanese hospitals (beds>19). Participants: 149 Chinese nurses employed in Japan. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, we mailed 640 paper questionnaires, which included a QR code for online responses, to 58 Japanese hospitals that employed Chinese nurses. A survey request form and internet address were sent to the WeChat app, where Chinese nurses in Japan communicate. The contents included attribute-related questions, the Nursing Practice Environment Scale, the Occupational Career Scale, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. A multivariate analysis was conducted with nine adjustment factors, such as gender, educational background, and work engagement, as the dependent variables. The significance level was set at p<.05. Results: Participants’ average age was 28.4 years, and the average years of nursing in Japan was 3.8. The work engagement score was 3.09, which is the low-medium level. The nursing practice environment was positively associated with work engagement (β=0.46, 95 %CI=1.02,1.99, p<.001), with nurse participation in hospital affairs among the subscales having the strongest effect on work engagement (β=0.41, 95 %CI=0.68,1.49, p<.001). The occupational career score was also positively associated with work engagement (β=0.42, 95 %CI= 0.51,1.08, p<.001), and among the subscales, forming and coordinating interpersonal relationships had the most influence on participants' work engagement (β=0.39, 95 %CI=0.42,0.94, p<.001). Conclusions: Based on the results, we suggest that the work engagement of Chinese nurses could be enhanced by providing them with the same opportunities to train and improve their skills as Japanese nurses, as well as by helping them form relationships with patients and colleagues.

Keywords

• Work engagement
• Career
• Work environment
• Nurses