The presence of resilience is associated with a healthier psychological profile in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses: Results of a national survey

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Meredith Mealer, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Jacqueline Jones, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Julia Newman, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Kim K. McFann, University of Colorado Denver; Barbara Rothbaum, Emory University; Marc Moss, University of Colorado School of Medicine
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-03-01
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2011.09.015
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: International Journal of Nursing Studies
• ISSN: 0020-7489
• Volume: 49
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 292
• End Page: 299
• Grant/Funding Information: Contract grant sponsor: NIH; Contract grant number: K24 HL-089223
• Keywords: Resilience; VALIDITY; VALIDATION; VULNERABILITY; Science & Technology; PROFESSIONALS; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Nursing; HOSPITALS; Burnout syndrome; POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER; MASLACH BURNOUT INVENTORY; ICU nurses; SCALE; TRAUMA; SYMPTOMS; Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Nursing; Health Sciences, Mental Health

Abstract

Objective: ICU nurses are repeatedly exposed to work related stresses resulting in the development of psychological disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder and burnout syndrome. Resilience is a learnable multidimensional characteristic enabling one to thrive in the face of adversity. In a national survey, we sought to determine whether resilience was associated with healthier psychological profiles in intensive care unit nurses. Design: Surveys were mailed to 3500 randomly selected ICU nurses across the United States and included: demographic questions, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Measurements and main results: Overall, 1239 of the mailed surveys were returned for a response rate of 35%, and complete data was available on a total of 744 nurses. Twenty-two percent of the intensive care unit nurses were categorized as being highly resilient. The presence of high resilience in these nurses was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, symptoms of anxiety or depression, and burnout syndrome (<0.001 for all comparisons). In independent multivariable analyses adjusting for five potential confounding variables, the presence of resilience was independently associated with a lower prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (p<0.001), and a lower prevalence of burnout syndrome (p<0.001). Conclusions: The presence of psychological resilience was independently associated with a lower prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and burnout syndrome in intensive care unit nurses. Future research is needed to better understand coping mechanisms employed by highly resilient nurses and how they maintain a healthier psychological profile.