Impact of Coping Strategies on Nurses’ Well‐Being and Practice

Abstract

Objectives:To examine the mechanisms of coping strategies on nurses' psychological well-being, practice environments and safety attitudes. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the results. Five hundred clinical nurses were randomly selected from a large group of 1,500 from a medical center with 1,350 beds in Taipei, Taiwan, from July to October 2015. Self-report questionnaires were administered to measure coping strategies (Brief COPE), psychological well-being (Ryff's Psychological Well-being Scale), nurses' practice environments (Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index), and safety attitudes (Safety Attitudes Questionnaire). Results: Of the 500 participants who gave written consent, 474 (94.8%) filled out the questionnaire. Results showed that using more approachoriented coping strategies and fewer avoidant coping strategies was associated with greater psychological well-being. Psychological well-being was directly associated with quality of nurses' practice environments and safety attitudes. The impact of psychological well-being on safety attitudes was mediated significantly by the quality of the practice environment. The use of approach-oriented coping strategies was significantly predictive of positive psychological well-being, a good practice environment, and good safety attitudes. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance:This study found a distinct pathway for the relationships between clinical nurses' psychological well-being, practice environment, and safety attitudes. Psychological well-being in clinical nurses was higher for those with more approach-oriented coping strategies. Psychological well-being directly impacted safety attitudes, which mediated nurses' practice environments. The practical implications of the results suggest that interventions designed to promote positive psychological well-being may help improve nurses' practice environments, which, in turn, may result in better safety attitudes and nursing care outcomes.Lee et al.

Role of Coping Styles in the Relationship Between Nurses’ Work Stress and Well‐Being Across Career

“…Our results are consistent with those of previous studies (De Vibe et al, ; Park & Adler, ; Tavakolizadeh et al, ). The correlationship among PFC, EFC, and PWB is consistent with a recent study (Lee et al, ) in which researchers indicated that approach‐oriented coping similar to PFC was associated with improved PWB, whereas avoidant coping similar to EFC was a counterproductive coping style for PWB.…”

“…For many decades, high nurse turnover rates have been a global phenomenon (Lee, Tzeng, & Chiang, ; Nursing Solutions Inc., ). The turnover rate of hospital nurses, especially new nurses, has been noted in academia and in clinical settings due to implications regarding patient safety and economic factors (Han, Choi, & Lee, ).…”

“…Many empirical studies on unavoidable sources of stress among nurses have been conducted in the past, but recent studies have focused on psychological well‐being (PWB) as a variable in relation to stress (Kang & Bae, ; Lee et al, ). PWB refers to the subjective happiness of an individual and his or her functional level of satisfaction with everyday life, as well as management of negative feelings in relation to failures or frustrations in life (Ryff, ).…”

Paediatric nurses’ general self-efficacy, perceived organizational support and perceived professional benefits from Class A tertiary hospitals in Jilin province of China: the mediating effect of nursing practice environment

“…Above all, a good nursing practice environment could be regarded as a moderating variable, increasing staff's perceived professional benefits. For successful implementation, nursing administrators should implement effective strategies to promote a comfortable practice environment [6,53].…”

Coping Effects on Life Meaning, Basic Psychological Needs and Well-Being

“…Today the more and the more researches evidence the relation between stress and various disorders and that stress has significant effect on psychological well-being and health. The relationship between coping strategies and well-being under stress (Yang, 2010) and the use of approach-oriented coping strategies is significantly predictive of positive psychological well-being (Lee et al, 2019). Stress management and coping strategies are essential for the balanced life.…”