Patient mistreatment, social sharing of negative events and emotional exhaustion among Chinese nurses: the combined moderating effect of organizational support and trait resilience

Wei Yan; Xiu Chen; Di Xiao; Huan Wang; Xin Du; Li Li; Chunjuan Xu; Caiping Song

doi:10.1186/s12912-024-01924-x

Patient mistreatment, social sharing of negative events and emotional exhaustion among Chinese nurses: the combined moderating effect of organizational support and trait resilience

BMC Nurs. 2024 Apr 22;23(1):260. doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-01924-x.

Authors

Wei Yan¹, Xiu Chen¹, Di Xiao², Huan Wang^{3

4}, Xin Du⁵, Li Li⁶, Chunjuan Xu⁷, Caiping Song⁸

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
² Medical Insurance Office, Hospital of Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
³ School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Development and Planning Department, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁵ Medical Center of Hematology, Xinqiao Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁶ Human Resources Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁷ Department of Burn Plastic and Microsurgery, The No. 987 Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA, Baoji, China. 972889533@qq.com.
⁸ Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, No. 83 Xinqiao Main Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, China. scp1974@163.com.

Abstract

Background: As a primary form of work-related violence in the healthcare sector, patient mistreatment negatively impacts nurses' well-being. To date, there has yet reached a definitive conclusion on the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions behind the influence of patient mistreatment on nurses' emotional exhaustion.

Methods: This study employed a convenience sampling method to recruit a sample of 1672 nurses from public hospitals in Western China. The data were collected through anonymous self-report questionnaires and analyzed using hierarchical regression and conditional processes to investigate a theoretical framework encompassing patient mistreatment, emotional exhaustion, social sharing of negative events, organizational support, and trait resilience.

Results: Patient mistreatment led to emotional exhaustion among nurses (β = 0.625, p <.001), and social sharing of negative events mediated this positive relationship (effect = 0.073, SE = 0.013). The combined effects of organizational support and resilience moderated the mediating effect of the social sharing of negative events between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion (β=-0.051, p <.05). Specifically, nurses with a high level of resilience would benefit from organizational support to alleviate emotional exhaustion caused by patient mistreatment.

Conclusions: This study validated a significant positive association between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion, which aligns with previous research findings. Integrating conservation of resources theory and goal progress theory, we addressed previous contradictory findings on the impact of social sharing of negative events on emotional exhaustion. Social sharing of negative events served as a mediator between patient mistreatment and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, the moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between social sharing of negative events and emotional exhaustion depended on individual trait of resilience.

Keywords: Combined effects; Emotional exhaustion; Organizational support; Patient mistreatment; Resilience trait; Social sharing of negative events.

Abstract

Grants and funding