How the Approaches of Managing Conflict With Patients Affect Nurse Emotional Exhaustion and Life Satisfaction: A
Weijia Luo1, Jessie Lin Wang2, Tingting Chen2
1Nursing Department, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Aim(S):
To explore whether nurses' use of different approaches to manage patient mistreatment can exert distinctive effects on their emotional exhaustion and life satisfaction, and to examine whether supervisor support can mitigate the negative effects of emotional exhaustion on nurses' life satisfaction.
Design:
A time-lagged three-wave survey study with a 2-week time interval was conducted in 2022.
Methods:
A total of 257 nurses from a Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited general hospital located in eastern China in 2022 completed three-wave surveys. Descriptive analyses, confirmatory factor analyses and mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed.
Data Sources:
Data were collected by using three-wave self-reported questionnaires from 257 nurses from a Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited general hospital located in eastern China in 2022.
Results:
Nurses who managed patient mistreatment more cooperatively experienced lower levels of emotional exhaustion, whereas those who managed patient mistreatment more competitively experienced higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion was negatively related to life satisfaction. Moreover, emotional exhaustion mediated the positive and negative relationships between cooperative and competitive conflict management approaches and overall life satisfaction. Additionally, supervisor support mitigated the negative impact of emotional exhaustion on life satisfaction and the indirect effects of conflict management approaches on life satisfaction.
Conclusion:
To effectively manage the negative impact of patient mistreatment on nurses, both nurses themselves and their supervisors play an important role. Nurses who adopt a cooperative conflict management approach experience lower levels of emotional exhaustion and higher levels of life satisfaction. Supervisor support can alleviate the negative effect of emotional exhaustion on life satisfaction.
Implications For The Profession And/Or Patient Care:
The findings provide a better understanding for nurses on how to mitigate the detrimental effects of patient mistreatment on nurses and highlight the role of both nurses themselves and their supervisors in protecting nurses' well-being.
Patient Or Public Contribution:
No patient or public contributed to the design or conduct of the study, analysis or interpretation of the data, or in the preparation of the manuscript.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Ethical Issues
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
01:20Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
01:20Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable...
01:14Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance
01:17Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
01:26Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques I
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals tend to be organized, responsible, and disciplined. They prioritize completing tasks and following structured routines,...