Background: Pre-hospital emergency nurses, frequently exposed to high-stress situations, are at risk for burnout and stress-related issues, affecting their overall well-being. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale, widely used among hospital nurses, remains untested in pre-hospital emergency settings. Aim: To adapt and validate the ProQoL scale for pre-hospital emergency contexts and explore the protective role of emotional intelligence in professional well-being. Methods: A mixed-method study was conducted. The qualitative approach involved semi-structured interviews to inform the modification of items for adapting the ProQoL to the pre-hospital emergency setting. A quantitative method was applied to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence and professional well-being through content and face validity measures. Results: Qualitative interviews suggested refining the ProQoL for pre-hospital emergency settings, emphasising factors such as job satisfaction and professional conduct. The revised 21-item Pre-Hospital Emergency-Professional Quality of Life (PHE-ProQoL) scale demonstrated strong content validity (I-CVI: 0.86-1, S-CVI: 0.9) and face validity. Significant correlations were observed between emotional intelligence and professional well-being, with negative correlations between emotional intelligence and both burnout (Pearson's r = −0.859) and post-traumatic stress (Pearson's r = −0.792), and a positive correlation with compassion satisfaction (Pearson's r = +0.917). Pre-hospital nurses displayed moderate levels of compassion satisfaction (27.3 ± 9.81), high emotional intelligence (28.0 ± 9.58), especially in empathy, and substantial levels of burnout (22.5 ± 6.09) and stress (21.2 ± 4.3). Discussion: The study found that pre-hospital emergency nurses exhibit moderate compassion satisfaction and above-average emotional intelligence, particularly in perceiving and managing others' emotions. However, they also experience significant levels of burnout and post-traumatic stress. Conclusions: Burnout and post-traumatic stress significantly affect pre-hospital emergency nurses. Enhancing emotional intelligence is crucial for their well-being. Nursing managers now have access to a validated and reliable tool to assess this.
The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Nurses' Professional Quality of Life in Pre‐Hospital Emergency Settings: A Multicentre Mixed‐Method Study
Ginogi, Francesca;Timmins, Fiona;Hayter, Mark;Catania, Gianluca;Zanini, Milko;Aleo, Giuseppe;Sasso, Loredana;Bagnasco, Annamaria
2024-01-01
Abstract
Background: Pre-hospital emergency nurses, frequently exposed to high-stress situations, are at risk for burnout and stress-related issues, affecting their overall well-being. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale, widely used among hospital nurses, remains untested in pre-hospital emergency settings. Aim: To adapt and validate the ProQoL scale for pre-hospital emergency contexts and explore the protective role of emotional intelligence in professional well-being. Methods: A mixed-method study was conducted. The qualitative approach involved semi-structured interviews to inform the modification of items for adapting the ProQoL to the pre-hospital emergency setting. A quantitative method was applied to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence and professional well-being through content and face validity measures. Results: Qualitative interviews suggested refining the ProQoL for pre-hospital emergency settings, emphasising factors such as job satisfaction and professional conduct. The revised 21-item Pre-Hospital Emergency-Professional Quality of Life (PHE-ProQoL) scale demonstrated strong content validity (I-CVI: 0.86-1, S-CVI: 0.9) and face validity. Significant correlations were observed between emotional intelligence and professional well-being, with negative correlations between emotional intelligence and both burnout (Pearson's r = −0.859) and post-traumatic stress (Pearson's r = −0.792), and a positive correlation with compassion satisfaction (Pearson's r = +0.917). Pre-hospital nurses displayed moderate levels of compassion satisfaction (27.3 ± 9.81), high emotional intelligence (28.0 ± 9.58), especially in empathy, and substantial levels of burnout (22.5 ± 6.09) and stress (21.2 ± 4.3). Discussion: The study found that pre-hospital emergency nurses exhibit moderate compassion satisfaction and above-average emotional intelligence, particularly in perceiving and managing others' emotions. However, they also experience significant levels of burnout and post-traumatic stress. Conclusions: Burnout and post-traumatic stress significantly affect pre-hospital emergency nurses. Enhancing emotional intelligence is crucial for their well-being. Nursing managers now have access to a validated and reliable tool to assess this.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
