Profiles of psychological flexibility and influencing factors among operating room nurses: A latent profile analysis

Abstract

Background In the nursing workforce, operating room(OR) nurses are at high risk for psychological issues due to the unique challenges of their work environment. Psychological flexibility(PF), as a protective element of mental health, is important for promoting the acceptance and adjustment of nurses. This study used the latent profile analysis(LPA) to identify latent profiles of PF among OR nurses and further explored the associated influencing factors. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 403 operating room nurses in Southwest China from November 2023 to April 2024 (effective rate of 91.18%). PF was measured by the Simplified Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory(MPFI-24), social support was measured by the Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS), and coping style was measured by the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire(TCSQ). We used LPA by Mplus.8.3 to identify latent profiles of PF. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the factors relevant to the different profiles. Results The PF of OR nurses can be identified into 4 groups: high PF group(14.1%), medium PF group-high engagement type(33.7%), lower-middle PF group(32.6%), low PF goup(19.6%). Gender, birthplace, whether you like the OR nursing, social support scores, and coping styles scores can be the predictors of PF among different profiles. Conclusions Our findings identified 4 latent profiles of PF among OR nurses, showing the heterogeneity of PF among nurses in the OR. Gender, birthplace, whether you like the operating room nursing, social support scores and coping styles scores can predict the latent profile of OR nurses. Our findings may can provide reference for the development of targeted interventional strategies to improve PF of OR nurses.