Experiences and Well-Being of Early-Career Trauma Nurses in India: A Mixed Methods Study

Trauma nursing is fast-paced and high-pressure work that can affect nurses' physical and mental health. However, these effects remain unexplored among novice trauma nurses in a newly established trauma center in India.

To examine relationships between professional quality of life, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and resilience and to explore the experiences of novice trauma nurses in a newly established trauma center in India.

This sequential mixed-methods study was conducted between April and June 2024 in a newly established trauma center in India. A purposive sample of 80 nurses was surveyed using a demographic questionnaire, the Brief Resilience Scale, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Nine nurses were interviewed to explore their trauma experiences. The analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics, bootstrap-based mediation testing, and thematic content analysis.

A total of 80 nurses completed the survey (response rate: 67.8%) with a mean age of 27.7 years (standard deviation [SD] = 2.89) and average years of trauma experience of 2.08 years (SD = 1.93). Higher compassion satisfaction correlated with fewer sleep disturbances (r = -.23, p = .037). Burnout positively correlated with anxiety (r = .24, p = .033) and sleep disturbances (r = .34, p = .023), and negatively with nurses' resilience (r = -.12, p = .049). Professional quality of life significantly correlated with resilience (r = .18, p = .048). Resilience mediated the relationship between anxiety and both burnout (β = .24, bootstrap confidence interval [BCI] = 0.04, 0.46, p = .041) and secondary traumatic stress (β = .24, BCI = 0.03, 0.52, p = .029). Qualitative analysis revealed three major themes: personal and professional adaptation to trauma life, adverse physical and psychological issues, and challenges faced in trauma care.

Our findings highlight the adverse impact of trauma nursing on sleep, resilience, anxiety, and professional quality of life among novice nurses in a newly established Level I trauma center in India. Targeted interventions are required to enhance resilience and mitigate the impact of caring for trauma patients.