Relationship between quality of work life and caring behaviors among emergency nurses

Purpose This study aimed to determine the relationship between quality of nurse work life (QNWL) and caring behaviors among emergency nurses. Design/methodology/approach In this cross-sectional study, a total of 168 emergency nurses were selected from eight hospitals in the metropolitan of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Data were collected in the first six months of 2018 by Brooks' QNWL questionnaire and Wolf's Caring Behaviors Inventory. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings The overall QNWL scores were low to moderate. The highest scores were related to the work design and home/ life dimensions. Nurses' care behaviors were focused on the physical aspect of care, so that the highest scores for dimensions of caring behaviors belonged to the professional knowledge and skill followed by the attentiveness to the others' experience and the lowest belonged to the positive connectedness. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the model with the three variables of work context, male gender, and age group 51-60 years was significant. Research limitations/implications This study used cross-sectional data for analysis, which limits the ability to establish causality. It is therefore suggested that future studies should use longitudinal designs to strengthen the acceptability of causality. Longitudinal designs will also help to assess changes of QNWL within units of observation over time. Moreover, this study was conducted in the educational treatment centers of Tabriz. Therefore, further studies should be carried out on nurses in the ED of East Azerbaijan and the northwestern provinces of Iran to allow generalization of the research results concerning macro-policymaking to improve the QNWL of these nurses and their caring behaviors. Practical implications For providing high quality care to patients, it is necessary to pay more attention to the communication and emotional aspects of patient care. Nurses' QWL, especially in the work context dimension, should be enhanced to improve the caring behaviors of nurses. Social implications Also considering that the work world dimension had the lowest score in QNWL, policymakers' efforts should continue for changing public attitudes toward the nursing profession and balancing the nurses' income based on their performance in the healthcare system to maintain the social prestige of the profession among the community. The media, political and public support can play a pivotal role in improving the image of nursing in society, increasing motivation among Iranian nurses and promoting the QNWL, which will result in higher levels of quality of care as well as greater patient satisfaction. Originality/value The results of this study show a positive correlation between the work context and caring behaviors and suggest that the use of strategies for improving the features of work context may be able to improve nurses' caring behaviors. In order to provide holistic care for our patients, we need changes in the conditions and work context of nurses so that nurses can like the physical aspect of care, pay attention to its psychological aspect.