Investigating nurses' quality of life and work-life balance statuses in Singapore

Aims To investigate the key determinants of nurses' quality of life and work-life balance statuses in a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Background Nurses' quality of life can directly and indirectly impact patients' safety and quality of care. Therefore, identifying key factors that influence nurses' quality of life is essential in the healthcare delivery system. Methods A descriptive quantitative study design was adopted, and validated questionnaires were used. Data were collected in a period of 3 months (March to May 2014) at a 600-bed tertiary hospital in Singapore. One thousand and forty nurses participated in the study. Results Social support and sense of coherence were found to be significant predictors for high quality of life in all domains. Most nurses in this study spent more time on work than their private lives. However, there was no significant difference in job satisfaction among the four groups of nurses' proportions of percentages of actual time spent on work and private life. Conclusions Cultivating social support from family, friends/colleagues and supervisors can help an individual cope with stress and enhance a nurse's quality