Quality of Work Life among Public Health Nurses: A Survey Comparison between Thailand and Japan

Abstract

Researchers from Thailand and Japan have initiated a collaborative project to compare the Quality of Work Life (QWL) among public health nurses. Thus, the QWL of registered nurses working in a community in Thailand was identified and compared with the Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in Japan. The purpose of which was to determine the similarities and differences between the two countries regarding their nurses’ quality of work life. The 42-item of Brooks’ survey of Quality of Nursing Work Life (QNWL) was translated and evaluated in Thailand and Japan. There were 102 Thai and 209 Japanese public health nurses completed the questionnaire.
 Findings showed that the QNWL level of both Thai and Japanese PHNs were at moderate level. Thai nurses scored higher than Japanese nurses in overall scores. Thai reported significantly higher on work design dimensions (t = 9.12, p < 0.05). For both groups, three out of four dimensions were ranked in the same pattern in which home life/work life was recorded as the lowest. This was followed by work design and work context. However, Thai scored lowest on work world dimension, while Japanese scored highest on that dimension. Findings also showed significant association between country and age groups (χ2 = 20.01, p = 0.00, marital status (χ2 = 6.50, p = 0.01), education (χ2 = 70.05, p = 0.00), and dependent family members (χ2 = 128.16, p = 0.00). No significant association was noted between country and gender (χ2 = 0.37, p = 0.54), and between country and work experience (χ2 = 2.88, p = 0.23).The findings extended our understanding of the Public Health Nurse’s quality of work life that contributes to nursing in different cultural contexts through a rare direct comparison of Public Health Nurses between Thailand and Japan.

Psychometric Testing of the Quality of Nursing Work Life Scale: Thai Version

“…The pretesting instrument, reliability was tested, and the results indicated a satisfactory value. This finding was in line with previous studies 17,38 . When considering the results of construct validity testing, the five eliminated items (items: 3, 10, 11, 16, and 20) were deleted, based on a factor loading of less than 0.5.…”

“…After performing the cognitive interview technique, the findings showed that 23 items needed to be revised to fit each context. This was similar to the earlier version that ensured accuracy by face validity 17 . The pretesting instrument, reliability was tested, and the results indicated a satisfactory value.…”

“…The BQNWL survey is used in Thailand, having been translated into Thai in 2017, by Komjakraphan, Balthip, and Jittanoon; wherein it is used to assess the QNWL among nurse practitioners (NPs) 17 that are specialists in community practice; with the ability to initiate treatment to deal with the common health problems of communities 18 . Nurse practitioners quite differ from registered nurses working in hospitals, in regards to their completed clinical hours and work contexts, as they have more autonomy, responsibility, and higher education 19 .…”

“…The questionnaire was reviewed, and its validity was ensured, and then field testing was conducted. Although test-retest reliability was used (r=0.91) (n=30) 17 , this scale did not undergo construct validity, which is critical for scale translation 20 .…”

Factors affecting the quality of working life among nurses caring for Syrian refugee camps in Jordan

“…The results align with previous study that focused demanding nature of nursing such as quality of work life in humanitarian and crisis settings [ 16 ]. The comparative study involving Thai and Japanese primary health nurses unraveled a modest level of QWL for both groups [ 17 ]. In Bangladesh, a study found that nurses rated their QWL as moderate [ 18 ].…”