Association Between Nursing Discussions, Resilience, Workplace Social Support and Burnout: A Quantitative Study in Japan

Abstract

Background Although it is known that resilience is negatively associated with burnout, and that certain interventions can effectively increase resilience, little is known about online resilience-enhancing interventions during the COVID-19 crisis. The aim of this study was to identify the association between an online resilience-enhancing intervention and workplace social support, and burnout among nurses working in the mainland and remote islands of Japan during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods Pretest-posttest was conducted between April 2020 and February 2021, and the questionnaire survey included the bidimensional resilience scale, the Japanese version of Pine’s Burnout Measure, and the workplace social support scale. Changes in burnout, resilience, and social support and the associations with nursing discussions as intervention were analyzed. Participants were 98 Nurses with 1 to 10 years of experience from Japan’s mainland and remote island hospitals of Kagoshima Prefecture participated in a baseline survey in April 2020. Of these, 76 participated in a secondary survey in September 2020, and 69 participated in the intervention program and a third survey in February 2021. The online intervention over Zoom consisted of small-group nursing discussions based on the broaden-and-build theory. Results Changes in burnout showed a significant negative association with change in workplace social support (Coef. = –0.019, 95% CI –0.035– –0.003), as did the interaction between change in acquired resilience and intervention (Coef. = –0.088, 95% CI –0.164– –0.011). Conclusion Change in workplace social support was significantly negatively associated with changes in burnout, as was the interaction of intervention and acquired resilience. Promotion of this intervention and making workplace social support more accessible may contribute to reduce burnout in nurses.