A Structural Model for Burnout and Work Engagement of Nurses in Long-term Care Hospitals: Application of the Expanded Job Demand-Job Resources Model

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and test a structural model for burnout and work engagement of nurses in long-term care hospitals. The hypothetical model was constructed on the basis of the expanded Job Demand-Job Resources Model by Xanthopoulou, Baker, Demerouti, and Schaufeli and previous studies related to nurses’ burnout and work engagement. Methods: The study participants included 232 nurses working in seven long-term care hospitals with over 100 bed located in Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do. Data were collected from February 6 to February 16, 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and structural equation modeling by SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0 programs. Results: The final model showed a good fit to the empirical data: The factors that influenced burnout of nurses in long-term care hospitals were resilience (β=-.37), emotional demands (β=.29), work overload (β=.24), organization-based self-esteem (β=-.19), and social support (β=-.18) explaining 60.5% of the variance. The factors that influenced work engagement for nurses in long-term care hospitals were resilience (β=.44), burnout (β=-.32), and career-growth opportunity (β=.18) explaining 66.4% of the variance. Conclusion: The model constructed in this study is recommended as a model to explain and predict the burnout and work engagement of nurses in long-term care hospitals. The results suggest that strategies for decreasing the burnout of nurses in long-term care hospitals should focus on resilience, emotional demands, work overload, organization-based self-esteem, and social support. In addition, strategies for increasing nurses’ work engagement should focus on resilience, burnout, career-growth opportunity, and social support.