Coping and health behaviours in times of global health crises: lessons from SARS and West Nile.

We examined perceived threats of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and West Nile Virus using an Internet-based questionnaire. Higher levels of perceived threats of diseases were associated with increases in a variety of ways of coping, including empathic responding and wishful thinking. In turn, we examined how coping with the perceived health threat was related to two specific health related behaviours: taking recommended precautions, and avoiding people in an attempt to avoid disease. The findings from linear regression indicated that empathic responding, in response to the threat of a virulent agent, was related to taking recommended and effective health precautions. On the other hand, wishful thinking was associated with those behaviours that may potentially lead to economic hardship in afflicted areas, such as avoiding people perceived to be at risk for an infectious agent. Implications for health promotion are discussed.

Effects of changing hospital units during organizational restructuring.

This study examined the effects on work experience, satisfaction, and psychological well-being when hospital-based nursing staff change nursing units during a period of major health care system and hospital restructuring. Data were collected from 1,362 staff nurses using anonymous questionnaires. Fourteen percent (n = 194) had changed units in the preceding year. Although the effects of changing units were small, staff nurses who had changed units generally reported higher levels of work stressors, less satisfaction, and more negative emotional well-being.

Stress and the effects of hospital restructuring in nurses.

This study examines the extent of stress and burnout experienced by nurses during hospital restructuring. It includes both job-related outcomes such as job satisfaction and burnout, and psychosomatic outcomes such as depression. The study compares effects attributable to number of hospital restructuring initiatives with those attributable to specific work stressors such as workload, bumping (where one nurse replaces another due to greater seniority), and use of unlicensed personnel to do the work of nurses. It also examines the role of personal resources including self-efficacy and coping. Results show that, in hospitals undergoing restructuring, workload is the most significant and consistent predictor of distress in nurses, as manifested in lower job satisfaction, professional efficacy, and job security. Greater workload also contributed to depression, cynicism, and anxiety. The practice of bumping contributed to job insecurity, depression, and anxiety. The results point to specific deleterious effects of hospital restructuring. Implications of the findings are discussed. The extent to which workload issues are managed through appropriate practices can be expected to match the extent of nurses' experience of either job satisfaction or depression and anxiety. Such practices need to be part of an ongoing process of interaction between the hospital administration and nurses.

Impact of restructuring scale: an instrument to measure effects of hospital restructuring.

As restructuring and downsizing occur throughout the workplace, many individuals are either losing their jobs or experiencing job insecurity. The study of downsizing is particularly important within the healthcare system where hospital mergers and closings, and severe cutbacks, have dramatically reduced healthcare services. Since nurses are the largest group employed by hospitals, they are the most likely to be affected by recent cutbacks. All this leads to the conclusion that a measure of the impact of restructuring is needed. This study reports on the Impact of Restructuring Scale--a new scale containing acceptable psychometric properties--that quantifies the effects of restructuring on organizations and individuals. The scale was applied to a sample of 1,363 nurses employed in hospitals undergoing restructuring and downsizing. The nurses returned a self-report questionnaire in which they reported their reactions to hospital restructuring and to specific job stressors.

Hospital restructuring and nursing staff well-being: the role of personal resources.

This study examined the role played by two personal resources, job mobility options and financial resources, among nursing staff during a period of major hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 1362 staff nurses using questionnaires. Personal resources were hypothesized to have direct and indirect effects on job satisfaction and psychological well-being in a model of hospital restructuring and its effects. The model included four variables: extent of hospital restructuring, future threats to the workplace, job satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms. LISREL analyses indicated that financial resources reduced perceptions of future workplace threats and psychosomatic symptoms while job mobility options were associated with higher levels of job satisfaction.

Introduction to special issue on burnout and health.

Abstract In recent years, the issue of occupational stress and burnout have received increasing research attention. Given the amount of time people spend on work-related activities and the central importance of work to one's sense of identity and self-worth, it is not surprising that occupational stress is regarded as a central area of study. Although burnout is linked to the extensive literature on occupational health, burnout goes beyond occupational health by focusing on specific stressors in the workplace to emphasize total life and environmental pressures affecting health.

Hospital restructuring, work-family conflict and psychological burnout among nursing staff.

Abstract This study examined work-family conflict, family-work conflict and psychological burnout among nursing staff during a time of hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 686 hospital-based nurses, the vast majority women. Nurses reported significantly greater work-family conflict than family-work conflict. Personal demographics but not downsizing and restructuring stressors predicted family-work conflict; downsizing and restructuring stressors but not personal demographics predicted work-family conflict. Restructuring stressors and both work-family conflict and family-work conflict were associated with higher levels of psychological burnout.

Effects of hospital restructuring on full time and part time nursing staff in Ontario.

This study examined the effects of hospital restructuring and downsizing on full-time and part-time nursing staff. Data were collected from 1362 nursing staff, a 35% response rate, using anonymous questionnaires. Measures included personal and situational characteristics, hospital restructuring and downsizing variables, work outcomes and psychological well-being indicators, and work-family experiences. Although full and part-time nurses were significantly different on most personal and demographic characteristics, both groups experienced and described hospital restructuring and downsizing similarly. Full-time nurses reported greater emotional exhaustion and poorer health and indicated greater absenteeism and lower intention to quit.

Hospital restructuring and downsizing in Canada: are less experienced nurses at risk?

The health care sector has undergone significant change during the past decade as hospitals struggle to provide the same service with fewer resources. This study examined perceptions of hospital restructuring and downsizing and their effects on nursing staff as a function of years in nursing. Data were obtained from 1,362 staff nurses by questionnaire. Nursing staff having less tenure generally described and responded to hospital restructuring and downsizing in more negative terms. Nursing staff having less tenure were in better health, reflecting their younger age. Some implications for hospital administration and the nursing profession are raised. Entrants to hospital-based nursing staff positions are the life blood of the profession. Their reactions to hospital restructuring and downsizing may influence their commitment to nursing as well as hospital functioning. The profession may have difficulty attracting young women and men into nursing programs. As longer tenured nursing staff retire, a potential shortage of nurses may result.

Work-family conflict, spouse support, and nursing staff well-being during organizational restructuring.

This study examined work and family conflict, spouse support, and nursing staff well-being during a time of hospital restructuring and downsizing. Data were collected from 686 hospital-based nurses, the vast majority (97%) women. Nurses reported significantly greater work-family conflict than family-work conflict. Personal demographic but not downsizing and restructuring variables predicted family-work conflict; downsizing and restructuring variables but not personal demographics predicted work-family conflict. Spouse support had no effect on work-family conflict but reduced family-work conflict. Both work-family conflict and family-work conflict were associated with less work satisfaction and greater psychological distress.

Work-family congruence and work-family concerns among nursing staff.

This study investigated work status congruence and work-family experiences among nursing staff. Data were collected from 1362 hospital-based nurses using anonymous questionnaires. Nurses indicated whether they were currently working full-time or part-time and whether they preferred to work full-time or part-time. Four work status groups were then compared. There were considerable demographic differences among the four work status groups. Nursing staff having congruent work status were generally more satisfied with their families and reported lower levels of work-family conflict. The two work status incongruent groups of nurses were found to have different correlates and consequences.

A study of the consistency of burnout over time.

Burnout over time in teachers in examined in this study using the three subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Lack of Personal Accomplishment. Measures were obtained twice, one year apart. LISREL structural equation analysis was used to test a model which predicted specified relationships among burnout components from time one to time two. Results showed that burnout components were consistent over time. Additional data suggest that one of the burnout components, emotional exhaustion, is a mediator between environmental demands and other burnout components.

A Canadian-Dutch comparison of teachers' burnout.

Scores on burnout among 631 Canadian and 1,180 Dutch teachers were compared with various demographic variables (sex and age) and factors related to work (experience in teaching, type of school, and number of hours employed). Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory of three dimensions, Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. Analysis indicated that, over-all, Canadian teachers reported higher scores on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization than their Dutch peers. Differences in the number of hours employed were also significant: full-time Canadian teachers scored higher on Depersonalization than their Dutch colleagues. Across countries, sex and type of school appeared significantly related to burnout. Male teachers rated higher on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization than the women. Especially with regard to the attitudinal components of burnout, i.e., Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment, secondary school teachers reported higher scores than elementary school teachers. Age was not significantly related to measures.

A longitudinal examination of the Cherniss model of psychological burnout.

This study is a longitudinal examination of a process model of psychological burnout proposed by Cherniss [1; Professional Burnout in Human Service Organizations (1980)]. In this model, work setting characteristics and individual difference variables have both direct effects on burnout and indirect effects on burnout through levels of experienced stress. Data were collected at two points in time separated by one year using questionnaires. Respondents were 362 school-based educators. Considerable support for the Cherniss model was found using path analysis.

Work stress, role conflict, social support, and psychological burnout among teachers.

This study examined a research model developed to understand psychological burnout among school-based educators. Data were collected from 833 school-based educators using questionnaires completed anonymously. Four groups of predictor variables identified in previous research were considered: individual demographic and situational variables, work stressors, role conflict, and social support. Some support for the model was found. Work stressors were strong predictors of psychological burnout. Individual demographic characteristics, role conflict, and social support had little effect on psychological burnout.

Cook-Medley hostility, anger, and the Type A behavior pattern in Finland.

According to research, hostility is a reliable predictor of coronary heart disease. Cook-Medley-defined hostility in particular has been seen as a significant precursor of coronary disease. It is important to specify the kind of hostility measured by the Cook-Medley scale. The present study examined the construct validity of the Cook-Medley scale for a sample of 219 university students in Finland, a country with a high incidence of coronary heart disease. The results supported the interpretation of the Cook-Medley scale primarily as a measure of cynicism and distrust. On the basis of our previous research, a subscale of the Cook-Medley scale was formed. This 9-item scale, a measure of Cynical Distrust, correlated positively with cynicism and negatively with trust. Moreover, the over-all pattern of correlations between the new 9-item factor, cynical distrust, and other variables assessing hostility, anger, and trust, was similar to the one obtained for our previous sample of students. It is suggested that this new 9-item scale is a shorter and more specific alternative to the longer Cook-Medley scale as a measure of cynical distrust.

Golembiewski's phase model of psychological burnout: some issues.

The present investigation examined three issues relevant to Golembiewski's phase model of psychological burnout. These were use of the mean versus median in creating high and low subgroups on Maslach Burnout Inventory subscales, use of different item structures on Maslach subscales, and different sequences of Maslach subscales proposed by Golembiewski and Maslach in the development of psychological burnout. Use of mean versus median, or different item structures on Maslach subscales, made relatively little difference. Golembiewski's ordering of the subscales, compared to Maslach's, produced a more linear progression over the 8 phases, as well as on three antecedents and consequences, but both sequences were related to these three variables in an almost identical fashion.

Sex differences in psychological burnout in teachers.

Sex differences in levels of experienced psychological burnout, and in antecedents and consequences, were examined among teachers and department heads. Male teachers reported greater burnout and less job satisfaction than did female teachers. Although male department heads scored significantly higher on psychological burnout, there were no sex differences on measures of satisfaction and emotional well-being. The findings are explained in terms of sex differences in levels of social support.

It may be lonely at the top but it's less stressful: psychological burnout in public schools.

This investigation compared levels of psychological burnout and its antecedents and consequences among teachers, department heads, and principals from a single school board. The data showed that increased stress and burnout were associated with decreased administrative responsibilities. Possible explanations for these findings are provided.