Nurses' mental health and patient safety: An extension of the Job Demands–Resources model

AIM: We employed the job demands-resources model to examine the impacts of job demands and resources on Chinese nurses' mental health and patient safety. BACKGROUND: Employee mental health and patient safety represent important organisational goals in most hospitals. However, their relationships to insomnia, professional resources and job crafting, as related to the job demands-resources model among nurses, remain unclear. METHODS: A convenience sample of 2095 registered hospital nurses was recruited from 25 provinces of mainland China from June 2019 to July 2019. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires that included the following instruments: the Chinese version of the Athens Insomnia Scale, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, the Job Crafting Scale, the Emotional Exhaustion Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the General Health Questionnaire and the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire. RESULTS: The final model confirmed our hypotheses: burnout mediated the relationship between actual job demands and mental health; work engagement mediated the relationship between perceived job resources and attitudes with regard to patient safety; and job crafting enhanced work engagement and practice environment. CONCLUSION: The job demands-resources model was extended based on the nurses' job characteristics and mental health, as well as patient safety. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: These findings may contribute to nursing management strategies that encourage employees to prevent burnout, promote work engagement and job crafting, and in turn promote nurses' mental health and patient safety.