Job characteristics, organizational conditions, and distress/well-being among Italian and Dutch nurses: a cross-national comparison.
BACKGROUND
Among health care workers, nursing has been identified as particularly stressful. Several studies have shown cross-national differences in nurses' levels of occupational stress and burnout.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the study was to compare job characteristics, organizational conditions, and strain reactions in Italian (N = 609) and Dutch (N = 873) nurses. It was also examined how and to what extent various job characteristics and organizational conditions explain occupational and general strain.


METHODS
The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.


METHODS
Based on the Job Demand-Control-Support Model and the Tripod accident causation model, respectively job characteristics and organizational conditions were assessed as independent variables. Strain was operationalized in terms of job satisfaction, burnout, and psychosomatic complaints.


RESULTS
Italian nurses perceived their job characteristics, organizational conditions, and well-being as more unfavourable than their Dutch colleagues. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that high job demands, low skill discretion, and low social support from supervisor were the most consistent predictors of occupational and general strain across samples. Organizational conditions added significantly to the prediction of job satisfaction and burnout. Furthermore, lack of personnel was a stronger predictor of burnout in the Italian nurses than in the Dutch nurses.


CONCLUSIONS
The study provides cross-national confirmation of the impact of job characteristics and organizational conditions on nurses' well-being. Differences in job characteristics partially explain the observed cross-national differences in distress/well-being. Furthermore, some evidence for crossnational differential effects of job characteristics and organizational conditions on well-being was found.
Department of Clinical, Health & Neuropsychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands. Renato.Pisanti@uniroma1.it
Renato
R
Pisanti
Margot
M
van der Doef
Stan
S
Maes
David
D
Lazzari
Mario
M
Bertini
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires