Depression in Nurses

Abstract

Patient outcomes are reliant on nursing calibre, which in turn is dependent on the health of work environments and practice settings. The National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses (NSWHN) examined a broad spectrum of nurses' work and health, with one finding of particular concern: Nurses have a higher rate of depression (1 in 10) than their counterparts (as found in other national surveys). This secondary analysis of the data focused on the outcome of depression in a subsample of the nurses surveyed by the NSWHN and examined associations between depression and work-related variables such as job strain, role overload, respect, social and employer supports, and nurses' perception of the quality of the care they provided. A multivariate logistic regression found an increased risk of depression in nurses experiencing job strain, role overload, and a lack of respect.