Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Individual psychosocial work characteristics have been associated with the health and well-being of registered nurses. However, it remains to be determined whether different types of psychosocial work characteristics form patterned profiles and whether the profiles are associated...

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Main Authors: Katri Lönnqvist, Timo Sinervo, Anu-Marja Kaihlanen, Marko Elovainio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:BMC Health Services Research
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-12164-9
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author Katri Lönnqvist
Timo Sinervo
Anu-Marja Kaihlanen
Marko Elovainio
author_facet Katri Lönnqvist
Timo Sinervo
Anu-Marja Kaihlanen
Marko Elovainio
author_sort Katri Lönnqvist
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Individual psychosocial work characteristics have been associated with the health and well-being of registered nurses. However, it remains to be determined whether different types of psychosocial work characteristics form patterned profiles and whether the profiles are associated with registered nurses’ health and welfare at different stages of their careers. The purpose of this study was to identify latent psychosocial work characteristic profiles and examine whether the profiles are associated with a certain career stage and health outcomes. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with 624 early-career registered nurses and 1,016 later-career registered nurses. Data were collected using an electronic survey with internationally validated measures including the Organizational Justice Scale, the Nurse Stress Index Scale, the Job Content Questionnaire, the Team Climate Inventory, the Psychological Distress Questionnaire, the Sleep Problems Questionnaire, and the Self-Rated Health Questionnaire. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify subgroups with similar psychosocial work characteristic profiles. Multinomial and linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between latent work characteristics profiles, stage of career, and health outcomes. Results We identified five profiles. The profiles were named based on class descriptions. The low strain/high support profile group and the moderate strain/high support profile group had statistically better self-rated health (p = < 0.001), less psychological distress (p = < 0.001) and less sleep problems (p = < 0.001) compared to the high strain/low support profile group. Conclusions Low to moderate strain, high interactional and procedural justice, and participative safety in teams form patterned profiles associated with better health in registered nurses. High strain, a lack of justice and a lack of participation safety form a risk combination pattern profile that may lead to health problems in registered nurses. Promoting procedural and interactional justice, and participation safety in teams seems efficient in enhancing the health and well-being of registered nurses. The findings indicate no significant correlation between career stages and work characteristic profiles. It is crucial to identify stressors specific for career stages and develop tailored interventions.
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spelling doaj-art-31ff546e952d488d853d374d35a58e3c2025-02-09T12:27:00ZengBMCBMC Health Services Research1472-69632025-02-0125111110.1186/s12913-024-12164-9Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional studyKatri Lönnqvist0Timo Sinervo1Anu-Marja Kaihlanen2Marko Elovainio3Doctoral Programme in Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of HelsinkiFinnish Institute for Health and WelfareFinnish Institute for Health and WelfareFinnish Institute for Health and WelfareAbstract Background Individual psychosocial work characteristics have been associated with the health and well-being of registered nurses. However, it remains to be determined whether different types of psychosocial work characteristics form patterned profiles and whether the profiles are associated with registered nurses’ health and welfare at different stages of their careers. The purpose of this study was to identify latent psychosocial work characteristic profiles and examine whether the profiles are associated with a certain career stage and health outcomes. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted with 624 early-career registered nurses and 1,016 later-career registered nurses. Data were collected using an electronic survey with internationally validated measures including the Organizational Justice Scale, the Nurse Stress Index Scale, the Job Content Questionnaire, the Team Climate Inventory, the Psychological Distress Questionnaire, the Sleep Problems Questionnaire, and the Self-Rated Health Questionnaire. Latent profile analysis was conducted to identify subgroups with similar psychosocial work characteristic profiles. Multinomial and linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between latent work characteristics profiles, stage of career, and health outcomes. Results We identified five profiles. The profiles were named based on class descriptions. The low strain/high support profile group and the moderate strain/high support profile group had statistically better self-rated health (p = < 0.001), less psychological distress (p = < 0.001) and less sleep problems (p = < 0.001) compared to the high strain/low support profile group. Conclusions Low to moderate strain, high interactional and procedural justice, and participative safety in teams form patterned profiles associated with better health in registered nurses. High strain, a lack of justice and a lack of participation safety form a risk combination pattern profile that may lead to health problems in registered nurses. Promoting procedural and interactional justice, and participation safety in teams seems efficient in enhancing the health and well-being of registered nurses. The findings indicate no significant correlation between career stages and work characteristic profiles. It is crucial to identify stressors specific for career stages and develop tailored interventions.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-12164-9Organizational justiceJob demandJob controlTeam climateHealthRegistered nurse
spellingShingle Katri Lönnqvist
Timo Sinervo
Anu-Marja Kaihlanen
Marko Elovainio
Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
BMC Health Services Research
Organizational justice
Job demand
Job control
Team climate
Health
Registered nurse
title Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
title_full Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
title_short Psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers: a cross-sectional study
title_sort psychosocial work characteristic profiles and health outcomes in registered nurses at different stages of their careers a cross sectional study
topic Organizational justice
Job demand
Job control
Team climate
Health
Registered nurse
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-12164-9
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