Nurses

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Nurses Reactions to SARS A Cross National
Comparison between China and Canada
Esther Greenglass, Sue Coffey, Kan Shi, Lisa
Fiksenbaum XueFeng Chen York University,
Toronto, Canada Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing ,China
Paper presented at ICP, Bejing, China August
8-13, 2004
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(No Transcript)
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The Samples

• Most were women
• Most were registered nurses
• Canada n 379
• China n173
• Canadian nurses (43 years old) were
  significantly older than Chinese nurses (28 years
  old)

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HAVE YOU EVERY BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH SUSPECTED OR
PROBABLE SARS?  
       
(?2(1) 62.98, plt.001
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DID YOU OR DO YOU WORK WITH SARS PATIENTS?  
?2(1) 150.08, plt.001
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SARS Threat

• Degree to which respondents worried that they
  would get SARS
• Sum of four items
• 4 point scale with 4 a great deal
• Sample item I felt nervous about getting SARS

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SARS Threat Canada vs. China
9.97
Canada
10.73
China
t -3.01, df550, plt.01
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Comparative Risk of Getting SARS

• Perceived risk of getting SARS compared to the
  risk of getting gastroenteritis, HIV/AIDS, and
  the flu
• Mean of three items
• 7-point scale with 7 very high
• Sample item Compared to my risk of getting the
  flu through exposure at work, my risk of getting
  SARS is

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Comparative Risk of Getting SARS Canada vs. China
4.31
Canada
5.19
China
t -5.87, df550, plt.001
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Organizational Support

• Degree to which respondents agreed that the
  hospital supported nurses and their concerns
  regarding SARS
• Sum of five items
• 5 point scale with 1 strongly agree
• Sample item The hospital listened to
  nursesconcerns regarding SARS

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Organizational Support Canada vs. China
14.46
Canada
7.39
China
t 16.53, df548, plt.001
Lower values indicate higher levels of
organizational support
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Preventive Coping

• Extent to which nurses engaged in behavior to
  prevent getting SARS themselves
• Sum of five items
• 4 point scale with 4 completely true
• Sample item I did what I could so that I would
  not get SARS

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Preventive Coping Canada vs. China
16.41
Canada
14.35
China
t 11.98, df547, plt.001
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Vigor

• Extent to which nurses indicated high levels of
  energy and a willingness to invest effort in work
• Mean of six items
• 6 point scale with 6 always/everyday
• Sample item At my work, I feel bursting with
  energy

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Professional Efficacy

• Satisfaction with past and present
  accomplishments and an individual's expectations
  of continued effectiveness at work
• Mean of 6 items
• 6 point scale with 6 every day
• Sample Item In my opinion, I am good at my job

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Correlations between Organizational Support,
Preventive, Coping,Vigor and Professional
Efficacy- Canada China
-14
Preventive Coping
-20
Canada
China
Vigor
-24
-23
Professional efficacy
-15
Lower values indicate higher levels of
organizational support
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Summary

• A cross-national comparison of nurses reactions
  to SARS permits generalizability of findings
• Measuring instruments can be validated across
  samples
• Results have implications for the study of
  stress, coping and social support in health care
  workers dealing with a public health threat
• Organizational support is a significant resource
  associated with positive reactions to work and
  individual coping