The Status of Presenteeism Among Nurses: A Latent Profile Analysis

The study aimed to characterise presenteeism among nurses and identify nurses' presenteeism associated with distinct latent profiles.

This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive approach.

From July to December 2024, data were collected from 404 Chinese clinical nurses across four tertiary hospitals in Sichuan Province, Southwest China, using demographic questionnaires, the Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6), and the Challenge- and Hindrance-Related Self-Reported Stress Scale (C-HSS). A latent profile analysis was conducted on SPS-6 scores using Mplus 8.3, followed by univariate analyses to compare characteristics across subgroups.

The total mean score of nurses' presenteeism is (16.13 ± 4.46), with approximately 59.4% classified as having a high level of presenteeism. Four latent profiles of nurses' presenteeism were identified through LPA: low fatigue-low work constraint (19.8%), low fatigue-high work constraint (33.9%), high fatigue-low work constraint (18.8%), and high fatigue-high work constraint (27.5%).

Nurses demonstrated moderately severe presenteeism, with LPA revealing four distinct phenotypes characterised by divergent fatigue- work constraint configurations. This heterogeneity underscores the need for stratified interventions addressing unique risk profiles across subgroups. Administrators should adopt targeted interventions according to the characteristics of nurses in different profiles to minimise nurses' loss of productivity.

This study addresses the evidence gap regarding the significant heterogeneity of presenteeism among nurses and the lack of precise identification, and identifies four distinct latent profiles of presenteeism. The findings provide critical evidence for nursing managers to design and implement differentiated intervention strategies tailored to groups with different risk characteristics.

The study followed the STROBE guideline.

This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct or reporting.