Work Wellbeing of Nurses in MENA Countries: A Cross-Sectional Comparative Secondary Analysis of Jordan, Israel, and...

Global research on nurse work wellbeing (WWB) has produced internationally-informed outcome models, yet few studies examine how these models apply within specific countries. Understanding WWB in the national context is essential to shape effective, locally relevant nursing policies and practices.

To explore WWB characteristics among hospital nurses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and identify country-specific opportunities to improve nurse WWB.

A secondary analysis was conducted using WWB data from nurses in Jordan, Israel, and Türkiye, extracted from a broader 9-country study (2022-2023) involving 2546 nurses. The original study employed the 35-item Profile of Caring instrument to measure a 9-factor model of WWB. This analysis used descriptive statistics and linear regression to examine country-specific patterns among MENA nurses (n = 429).

Data from Jordan (n = 136), Israel (n = 175), and Türkiye (n = 118) revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) across five of nine WWB factors by country. Country, as a variable, predicted 33% of the variance of caring-for-self and 20% of caring-of-manager, with Türkiye and Jordan reporting the lowest scores, respectively. Country explained 18% of satisfaction with professional growth and 16% in autonomy, with Türkiye scoring lowest on both. Fifteen percent of participative management was predicted by country, with both Türkiye and Jordan having lower scores than Israel.

Findings inform country-specific policy and operational improvements to support nurse WWB: strengthening manager-staff engagement, fostering self-care among nurses and caring and communicative behaviors from managers, supporting professional development, and enhancing autonomy and role clarity.