Perceived Family Function and Associated Predictors in Nurses: a Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

\n Background: Evidence of family function in clinical nurses remains limited even though nurses play a core role in health care system. The current study was to evaluate the family function of the Chinese clinical nurses, and to explore associated predicting factors.Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional anonymous online survey was carried out. Chinese Family Function Scale were used in the study. Participants were asked to finish the questionnaire as well as demographic information. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, Mann-Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis H test was performed in the univariate analysis. Pairwise comparison method was used to determine whether the difference was significant between pair groups. Categorical regression (optimal scaling regression) was the main method to analysis factors which had been confirmed to be statistically significant in the univariate analysis.Results: 19422 nurses completed the online questionnaires. The median of the nurse’s perceived family function score was 3 (Inter-quartile Range: IQR 2-5). The univariate analysis suggested age (P=0.004), highest education level (P<0.001), hospital level (P<0.001), working years (P=0.031), rotation shift status (P<0.001), working department (P<0.001), marital status (P<0.001), number of children (P<0.001), and monthly income per family member (P<0.001) were related to the nurses’ perceived family function. However, the multivariate analysis showed that highest education level (P<0.001), hospital level (P<0.001), rotation shift status (P<0.001), working department (P<0.001), number of children (P<0.001), monthly income per family member (P<0.001) were significantly associated with family function. Moreover, the importance of the factors was number of children (49.1%), monthly income per family member (20.7%), rotation shift status (12.4%), highest education level (8.0%), hospital level (7.6%) and working department (2.4%) in turn.Conclusions: Most of the nurses participated in the study demonstrated appropriate family function. Highest education level, hospital level, rotation shift status, working department, number of children and monthly income per family member were significant associated with nurses’ perceived family function. The importance of those predictors was, in turn, number of children, monthly income per family member, rotation shift status, highest education level, hospital level, and working department.