Current Issue : October-December Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
Background: Emotional awareness is a core component of professional competence in healthcare, influencing therapeutic communication, stress regulation, and relational effectiveness. Alexithymia, defined as difficulty identifying and describing emotions, may interfere with the development of these skills during nursing education. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of alexithymic traits in Italian nursing students and to examine differences according to gender and academic year. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional design was adopted. A total of 232 undergraduate nursing students from several Italian universities completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) via an anonymous online survey. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were performed. Results: The mean TAS-20 total score was 60.36 (SD = 11.22), approaching the clinical cutoff. Approximately 26% of students met the criteria for alexithymia. No statistically significant differences emerged across gender or academic year. A near-significant trend was observed for the Difficulty Identifying Feelings subscale (p = 0.053). Conclusions: A substantial proportion of nursing students reported elevated alexithymic traits. These findings highlight the need to strengthen emotional competence within nursing curricula to support professional development and resilience....
Background: Caring for older adults with multimorbidity represents one of the most challenging aspects of contemporary nursing practice. While research has examined clinical outcomes and care models, limited attention has been given to how nurses develop resilience and adapt their professional practice to meet these complex care demands. This study aimed to examine how nurses build resilience and adapt their professional practice when caring for older adults with multimorbidity in acute care environments. Methods: This qualitative study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 registered nurses across general and specialized hospital settings. Data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis to understand the essence of nurses’ adaptation and resiliencebuilding experiences. Results: Three superordinate themes emerged: (1) Professional evolution through complexity navigation, (2) Emotional resilience and meaning-making in challenging care situations, and (3) Collaborative networks as sources of strength and learning. Nurses demonstrated remarkable capacity for professional growth, developing sophisticated coping mechanisms and finding meaning in their challenging work. Conclusions: Nurses caring for older adults with multimorbidity undergo significant professional development, building resilience through experiential learning, peer support, and meaning-making processes, though these gains are accompanied by real emotional costs, including moral distress and exhaustion. Understanding these adaptation mechanisms is crucial for supporting nursing workforce sustainability and optimizing patient care quality....
Mealtime assistance for people living with dementia presents care- related challenges, yet few validated instruments assess nursing staff perspectives. This study developed and conducted an exploratory validation of the Assisting Mealtime Scale. A multiphase instrument development process included literature review, expert consultation, content validation, pilot testing, and forward–backward translation. The 19- item scale was administered to nursing staff in aged care settings in Australia and China (N = 240). Exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring with Promax rotation examined factor structure. Sampling adequacy was assessed using the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin test and Bartlett's test of sphericity. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Sampling adequacy was excellent (KMO = 0.891). A three- factor solution explained 55.25% of total variance. Factors represented Perceived Knowledge and Skill Gaps, Time and Task Pressure, and Attitudes Toward mealtime assistance and Autonomy. The overall scale demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.890). The scale demonstrates preliminary construct validity and reliability. Further confirmatory and cross- cultural validation is required....
Aim: To consolidate existing evidence on the factors affecting nurses’ work–life balance. Background: Work–life balance is an emerging concept among many professions, including nursing. Given the global nursing shortage and high demand for nurses, more attention should be placed on understanding the factors affecting nurses’ work–life balance. Better measures can hence be created to improve nurses’ work–life balance. Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Excerpta Medica Database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and Scopus and Web of Science) were searched from inception up to February 2024. A grey literature search and screening of reference lists of relevant papers were also conducted. Identified studies were screened against the eligibility criteria, including population, outcome and type of study. The screening, appraisal and data extraction of the eligible papers were done independently by two reviewers. Available evidence was then synthesised using a convergent integrated approach. Results: Twenty-one quantitative studies and one qualitative study were included. Six themes on factors affecting nurses’ work–life balance were derived: (1) sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, gender, income status and marital status, (2) personal life, including family support and social life, (3) job control, with emphasis on control over working hours, (4) job demand, encompassing both physical and psychological impacts, (5) work schedule, with highlight on frequent night shifts and shift changes and (6) working environment, including work culture and settings. Discussion: As evident from this review, work–life balance is a multifactorial concept. Nurses, nurse leaders and healthcare organisations have the shared responsibility of ensuring that nurses have an improved work–life balance. Understanding the different factors affecting nurses’ work–life balance can allow these stakeholders to take steps towards improving nurses’ work–life balance, which in turn result in better clinical outcomes. However, it should be considered that the evidence gathered in this study might not provide a complete overview of the factors affecting nurses’ work–life balance due to the complexities of the topic. Conclusion and Implications for Nursing and/or Health Policy: This review provides insight into the factors affecting the work–life balance of nurses and emphasises the need for the involved stakeholders to create strategies including safe-care interventions, flexible working hours and family-friendly policies to enhance nurses’ work–life balance....
Background: Nurses’ job satisfaction is an important factor associated with motivation, retention, and performance, potentially influencing the quality and safety of healthcare delivery. Identifying organizational and professional determinants of job satisfaction is essential for the sustainability of healthcare systems. Objective: This study aims to describe nurses’ job satisfaction across its multiple dimensions and examine differences in job satisfaction dimensions across sociodemographic and professional groups. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive–correlational study was conducted with 153 nurses. Data were collected between October and December 2024 using an online questionnaire, with a response rate of 28.9%, which included the Escala de Satisfação dos Enfermeiros com o Trabalho (ESET). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed, with the significance level set at 0.05. Results: Moderate levels of job satisfaction predominated among participants (75.8%), with 5.2% of participants reporting low satisfaction. The highest mean scores were observed in satisfaction with co-workers and professional recognition, while the lowest scores were found in the recognition and remuneration dimension. Statistically significant differences in mean job satisfaction scores were observed across groups defined by variables such as work setting, work schedule, weekly workload, and employment across multiple workplaces. Conclusions: Nurses’ job satisfaction is multidimensional and varies across different professional and organizational groups. These findings highlight areas of lower job satisfaction that may represent priorities for future organizational assessment and management attention....
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