title: Influence of a merger on nurses' emotional well-being: the importance of self-efficacy and emotional reactivity.
abstract: The influence of the merger of two major medical centres on the emotional well-being of nurses was investigated by use of a questionnaire on emotional distress, perception of threat, self-efficacy and emotional reactivity. Evaluations were carried out 1 month prior to the merger at the official announcement, and again half a year after the merger took place. Before the merger, threat perception was higher in the transferring nurses, but the difference was of borderline significance (P = 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between threat perception and both emotional reactivity and emotional distress, and a significant negative correlation between self-efficacy and both threat perception and emotional distress (P < 0.001 for all). After the merger, the transferring nurses showed more emotional distress (P = 0.009). There was a significant positive correlation between threat perception, emotional distress and negative outcome variables such as burnout and stress (P < 0.001), and a significant negative correlation between threat perception and positive outcome variables such as growth (P < 0.01). This study identifies some personal characteristics that can affect the way nurses deal with hospital mergers and need to be considered during organizational changes in order to maintain job satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology at Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petach Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Menucha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Idel
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Melamed
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merlob
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yahav
authors.forename: Tova
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hendel
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006273:Health Facility Merger; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020377:Self Efficacy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric