Associations of job satisfaction and burnout with psychological distress among Chinese nurses

Nurses' mental health is related to the quality of medical care and the outcome of treatment, and has become an important issue in nursing management. However, the role of burnout in the relationship between job satisfaction and psychological distress have not been evaluated. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of psychological distress among Chinese nurses and explore the associations of job satisfaction and burnout with psychological distress. A cross-sectional survey of 866 nurses was conducted in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province of China. Job satisfaction, burnout, and psychological distress were assessed via the single-item, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire respectively, followed by a mediation analysis through the multiple regression analysis and a PROCESS macro method. The prevalence of psychological distress was 35.2% among the participants. After controlling the potential confounding factors, job satisfaction and burnout were found to be still associated with psychological distress (P < 0.001). Furthermore, psychological distress was negatively correlated with both job satisfaction (r = -0.312) and personal accomplishment (r = -0.422) but positively correlated with both emotional exhaustion (r = 0.491) and depersonalization (r = 0.449). Burnout may mediate the association between job satisfaction and psychological distress (B = 0.139, beta = 0.440, P < 0.001 for emotional exhaustion; B = 0.226, beta = 0.382, P < 0.001 for depersonalization; and B = -0.105, beta = -0.368, P < 0.001 for personal accomplishment). The mental health status of Chinese nurses remains to be improved. Low job satisfaction and burnout could increase the risk of psychological distress among Chinese nurses. Moreover, job satisfaction may partially affect psychological distress among Chinese nurses through emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and depersonalization.