Mediating effect of work passion on association between psychological capital and occupational well-being among emergency department nurses

Objective To explore the mediating role of work passion in the association between psychological capital and occupational well-being among emergency department nurses, providing reference for enhancing their well-being and thereby contributing to the stability of the emergency nursing team.

Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2023 to September 2023 among 210 emergency department nurses from two top tertiary general hospitals and two secondary hospitals in Shanghai. The questionnaires of the Occupational Well-being Scale for Medical Workers, the Nurses' Psychological Capital Scale, and the Work Passion Scale were utilized for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 software, followed by mediation effect analysis with the Process V3.3 plugin.

Results A total of 203 valid questionnaires were collected, with a response rate of 96.7%. The occupational well-being score of emergency department nurses was (81.33 ±13.93), the psychological capital score was (85.82 ±15.73), and the work passion score was (64.60 ±13.05). Nurses with a bachelor's degree, voluntarily choosing nursing as a profession, as the only child of family, and receiving non-resident training scored higher in occupational well-being (all P < 0.05); the scores of occupational well-being showed a trend of increasing with the years of nursing experience before decreasing (P < 0.05). Occupational well-being was positively correlated with work passion and psychological capital (r = 0.751, 0.685, both P < 0.01), and psychological capital was positively correlated with work passion (r = 0.601, P < 0.01). Psychological capital had a direct impact on the occupational well-being of emergency department nurses, accounting for 41.85% of the total effect, while work passion served as a mediator between psychological capital and occupational well-being, and the mediating effect accounted for 58.15% of the total effect.

Conclusions Nursing managers can enhance the occupational well-being of emergency department nurses by strengthening their psychological capital and regulating their work passion.