Sara Viotti

Low Back Pain and Associated Presenteeism among Hospital Nursing Staff

Low Back Pain and Associated Presenteeism among Hospital Nursing Staff: Angelo d’ERRICO, et al. Department of Epidemiology, Local Health Unit TO3, Italy—

Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) among Italian Nurses: How Many Factors Must a Researcher Consider?

Background The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the mainstream measure for burnout. However, its psychometric properties have been questioned, and alternative measurement models of the inventory have been suggested. Aims Different models for the number of items and factors of the MBI-HSS, the version of the Inventory for the Human Service sector, were tested in order to identify the most appropriate model for measuring burnout in Italy. Methods The study dataset consisted of a sample of 925 nurses. Ten alternative models of burnout were compared using confirmatory factor analysis. The psychometric properties of items and reliability of the MBI-HSS subscales were evaluated. Results Item malfunctioning may confound the MBI-HSS factor structure. The analysis confirmed the factorial structure of the MBI-HSS with a three-dimensional, 20-item assessment. Conclusions The factorial structure underlying the MBI-HSS follows Maslach’s definition when items are reduced from the original 22 to a 20-item set. Alternative models, either with fewer items or with an increased number of latent dimensions in the burnout structure, do not yield better results to justify redefining the item set or theoretically revising the syndrome construct.

Relationship between job demands and psychological outcomes among nurses: Does skill discretion matter?

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to assess both the direct and indirect effects (i.e., interacting with various job demands) of skill discretion on various psychological outcomes (i.e., emotional exhaustion, intention to leave, affective well-being, and job satisfaction). MATERIAL AND METHODS Data were collected by a self-reported questionnaire in 3 hospitals in Italy. The sample consisted of 522 nurses. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses were employed. RESULTS The findings highlighted the direct effect of skill discretion on reducing emotional exhaustion, intention to leave, sustaining affective well-being and job satisfaction. As regards interaction effect, the analyses indicated that skill discretion moderates the negative effect of disproportionate patient expectations on all the considered psychological outcomes. On the other hand, skill discretion was found to moderate the effect of cognitive demands on turnover intention as well as the effect of quantitative demands on emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction only in conditions of low job demands. CONCLUSIONS The study revealed some interesting findings, suggesting that skill discretion is not a resource in the pure sense, but that it also has some characteristics of a job demand. The study has relevant practical implications. Particularly, from a job design point of view, the present study suggests that job demands and skill discretion should be balanced carefully in order to sustain job well-being and worker retention.

Verbal Aggression from Care Recipients as a Risk Factor among Nursing Staff: A Study on Burnout in the JD-R Model Perspective

Among nursing staff, the risk of experiencing violence, especially verbal aggression, is particularly relevant. The present study, developed in the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), has two main aims: (a) to examine the association between verbal aggression and job burnout in both nurses and nurses aides and (b) to assess whether job content, social resources, and organizational resources lessen the negative impact of verbal aggression on burnout in the two professional groups. The cross-sectional study uses a dataset that consists of 630 workers (522 nurses and 108 nurses aides) employed in emergency and medical units. High associations were found between verbal aggression and job burnout in both professional groups. Moderated hierarchical regressions showed that, among nurses, only the job content level resources moderated the effects of the verbal aggression on job burnout. Among nurses aides, the opposite was found. Some resources on the social and organizational levels but none of the job content level resources buffered the effects of verbal aggression on workers burnout. The study highlights the crucial role of different types of resources in protecting nursing staff from the detrimental effects of verbal aggression on job burnout.

Aging and Work Ability: The Moderating Role of Job and Personal Resources

Objective: Demographic changes involving western countries and later retirements due to the recent pension reforms induce a gradual aging of the workforce. This imply an increasing number of workers with health problems and a decreasing of ability to work. In this direction, the present study aims at examining the role of job and personal resources between age and work ability within nurses. Method: The study was cross-sectional and not randomized; data were collected by a self-report questionnaire during a multi-center survey conducted in two Italian hospitals in 2016. In this way, 333 nurses were reached. Results: Multiple linear regression showed that age is significantly and negatively associated to work ability, and that job resources (e.g., decision authority and meaning of work) and personal resources (e.g., hope and resilience) moderate the relationship between age and work ability. Discussion: These results highlight that investing in work and personal resources to support WA is even more relevant for those professions where high physical effort is required.

La misurazione del burnout nei contesti sanitari: validità di costrutto e invarianza fattoriale della versione italiana dello Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI-Ita)

Introduzione. Il burnout rappresenta un rischio psicosociale rilevante nel contesto sanitario. La disponibilita di strumenti di valutazione del burnout di cui sono note le qualita psicometriche specificatamente riferite al contesto sanitario italiano e dunque importante al fine dell’affidabilita della misurazione del fenomeno. Obiettivo. Scopo del presente lavoro e quello di fornire evidenze empiriche circa le caratteristiche psicometriche della versione italiana dello Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI-Ita) in riferimento al contesto sanitario. Metodo. Il presente lavoro si basa su dataset provenienti da due studi distinti. Lo Studio I ha coinvolto 318 lavoratori del comparto sanitario impiegati in due presidi. Lo Studio II ha coinvolto 695 medici e infermieri di una azienda sanitaria. Risultati. Dall’analisi dei dati provenienti dallo Studio I, in cui sono stati messi in competizione differenti modelli, emerge che il modello quadri-fattoriale ipotizzato da Gil-Monte (Entusiasmo per il lavoro, Esaurimento psicologico, Indolenza, Colpa) e quello che meglio intercetta la struttura soggiacente ai dati. Le analisi sui dati dello Studio II evidenziano che la struttura fattoriale e invariante tra i sottogruppi di medici e infermieri. Discussione e Conclusioni. I risultati indicano che lo SBI-Ita riporta caratteristiche psicometriche soddisfacenti rappresentando uno strumento adeguato per la misurazione del burnout nei contesti sanitari in Italia. Puo essere utilizzato proficuamente nell’ambito di rilevazioni volte alla valutazione dei rischi psicosociali in intere popolazioni lavorative (es., valutazione stress-lavoro correlato in adempimento alla L.81/08), e in fase di approfondimento diagnostico nell’ambito di interventi volti al sostegno individuale del lavoratore.

Buffering Effect of Job Resources in the Relationship between Job Demands and Work-to-Private-Life Interference: A Study among Health-Care Workers

Background The present study aims at investigating whether and how (1) job demands and job resources are associated with work-to-private-life interference (WLI) and (2) job resources moderate the relationship between job demands and WLI. Methods Data were collected by a self-report questionnaire from three hospitals in Italy. The sample consisted of 889 health-care workers. Results All job demands (i.e., quantitative demands, disproportionate patient expectations, and verbal aggression) and job resources (i.e., job autonomy, support from superiors and colleagues, fairness, and organizational support), with the exception of skill discretion, were related to WLI. The effects of quantitative demands on WLI were moderated by support from superiors; fairness and organizational support moderate the effects of all job demands considered. Support from colleagues moderated only verbal aggression. Job autonomy did not buffer any job demands. Conclusion The present study suggests that the work context has a central importance in relation to the experience of WLI among health-care workers. The results indicated that intervention in the work context may help to contain WLI. Such interventions would especially be aimed at improving the social climate within the unit and quality of the organizational process.

Are there any job resources capable of moderating the effect of physical demands on work ability? A study among kindergarten teachers

Background. It is recognized that teaching in a preschool context is physically demanding. Despite this, the consequences of physical demands on psychophysical health (including work ability) are significantly understudied among kindergarten teachers. Objectives. The aim of the present study is to examine (a) the association between physical demands and work ability and (b) whether psychosocial job resources buffer the negative impact of physical demands among kindergarten teachers. Method. A total of 426 kindergarten teachers employed in the municipal educational services of a city in northwest Italy filled out a self-reported questionnaire. Results. High association was found between physical demand and work ability. Moderated hierarchical regressions showed that decision authority, skill discretion, reward and meaning of work buffer the hampering effect of physical demands and work ability. No buffering effects were observed for support from superiors and colleagues. Conclusion. The present study has relevant, practical implications, highlighting the importance of investing in interventions encompassing a holistic perspective (e.g., psychosocial and ergonomic) in order to effectively combat the hampering effect of physical demands on work ability.

Users’ Support as a Social Resource in Educational Services: Construct Validity and Measurement Invariance of the User-Initiated Support Scale (UISS)

Social support is an important resource for reducing the risks of stress and burnout at work. It seems to be particularly helpful for educational and social professionals. The constant and intense relationships with users that characterize this kind of service can be very demanding, increasing stress and leading to burnout. While significant attention has been paid to supervisors and colleagues in the literature, users have rarely been considered as possible sources of social support. The only exception is the Zimmermann et al.’s (2011) research, focused on customer support as a resource for workers’ well-being. This paper proposes the validation of the customer-initiated support scale developed by Zimmermann et al. (2011), translated into Italian and focused on educational services users (children’s parents), to measure the user support perceived by workers: the User-Initiated Support Scale (UISS). In Study 1 (105 teachers), which specifically involved educators and kindergarten teachers, the items and scale properties were preliminarily examined using descriptive analyses and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). In Study 2 (304 teachers), the construct and criterion validity and scale dimensionality were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In Study 3 (304 teachers from Study 2 and 296 educators), measurement invariance (MI) was tested. The EFA results from Study 1 showed a one-factor solution (explained variance, 67.2%). The scale showed good internal coherence (alpha = 0.88). The CFA in Study 2 validated the one-factor solution (comparative fit index = 0.987; standardized root mean square residual = 0.054). Bivariate correlations confirmed construct validity; the UISS was positively associated (convergent) with user gratitude, and not associated (divergent) with disproportionate customer expectations. Regarding the criterion validity test, the UISS was strongly correlated with burnout and job satisfaction. The analysis of MI performed on the Study 3 data confirmed the equality of the parameters of the covariance structure model between the two samples of kindergarten teachers and educators. This research study offers a useful version of a tool for measuring a crucial, but often ignored, protective resource for all professionals working directly with people (patients, students, and service users) that can represent important sources of well-being, directly or indirectly lessening the negative impacts of job demands.

Toward validating the Italian version of the "Spanish Burnout Inventory": a preliminary study

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to develop the Italian version of the Spanish Burnout Inventory (SBI) and to examine its psychometric properties within a sample of nursing staff. METHOD The study was cross-sectional and not randomized. The data were gathered using an anonymous, self-report questionnaire. The sample consisted of 391 staff nurses employed in three hospitals in the Northern Region of Italy To evaluate burnout, the SBI and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were administered. RESULTS An Exploratory Factor Analysis showed a four-factor structure close to the expected one. All Cronbachs alpha values were satisfactory. Furthermore, correlations support the concurrent validity. CONCLUSION Overall, the results of this study provided evidence that the SBI is an adequate instrument to study burnout in the Italian nursing sample and indicated the feeling of guilt as an important dimension to gauge the structure of this phenomenon.OBJETIVOO objetivo deste estudo foi desenvolver a versao italiana do SBI (Spanish Burnout Inventory) e analisar as suas propriedades psicometricas numa amostra de enfermeiros.METODOO estudo foi de carater transversal, e nao randomizado. Os dados foram coletados atraves de um questionario autopreenchido de maneira anonima. A amostra foi composta por 391 enfermeiros funcionarios de tres hospitais de uma regiao do norte da Italia. Para avaliar o burnout, utilizou-se o Spanish Burnout Inventory e o Maslach Burnout Inventory.RESULTADOSOs resultados da Analise Fatorial Exploratoria mostraram uma estrutura de quatro fatores, como era esperado. Todos os valores de alfa de Cronbach foram satisfatorios. Alem disso, as correlacoes apoiar validade concorrente.CONCLUSAONo geral, os resultados deste estudo forneceram evidencias de que o SBI e um instrumento adequado para estudar o burnout numa amostra de enfermagem italiana e indicou que os sentimentos de culpa sao uma dimensao importante para avaliar a estrutura do fenomeno.