Current status and factors influencing innovative behavior of pediatric nurses: a cross-sectional study

Although innovative behavior is recognized as central to quality pediatric care and professional growth, research specifically examining its level and predictors among pediatric nurses lags behind.

This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing innovative behavior among pediatric nurses, with a focus on co-rumination and spiritual climate.

A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted.

A total of 432 pediatric nurses were invited to participate, and 367 completed the survey. Co-rumination was measured using the Chinese version of the Co-rumination Questionnaire (CRQ-9), spiritual climate was assessed with the Chinese version of the Spiritual Climate Scale, and innovative behavior was gauged using the Chinese version of the Innovative Behavior Scale (IBI). Descriptive methods, Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis tests, Spearman correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis.

Of the 367 participating pediatric nurses, 98.91% were female. The mean total scores were 76.87 ± 11.30 for innovative behavior, 28.23 ± 7.43 for co-rumination, and 69.69 ± 19.48 for spiritual climate. Among the innovative behavior domains, the highest mean score was observed in access to human resources (4.03 ± 0.63), while the lowest was in clinical applications (3.67 ± 0.82). Innovative behavior domains showed strong positive intercorrelations. The regression model identified co-rumination and spiritual climate as significant predictors of innovative behavior. Specifically, co-rumination (β = 0.430, P < 0.001) and spiritual climate (β = 0.245, P < 0.001) positively predicted the overall score and its subdomains. These two factors accounted for 31.6% of the variance in innovative behavior.

The results of this study showed that pediatric nurses' innovative behavior was at a moderate level, and the main influencing factors included years of experience in pediatrics, average working hours in the last month, co-rumination, and spiritual climate. Future research could explore whether interventions targeting these factors might foster innovative practices.

Not applicable.