Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Nursing
Date Submitted: Dec 28, 2024
Date Accepted: Mar 30, 2025
Date Submitted to PubMed: Mar 31, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Exploring the Impact of Work Stress on Emotional Exhaustion Among Nursing Staff： The Moderating Effect of Listening to Podcasts
ABSTRACT
Background:
he COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems worldwide, significantly impacting frontline healthcare workers, especially nurses. These professionals have faced considerable psychological stress from caring for COVID-19 patients and the fear of spreading the virus to their families. Studies report that over 60% of nurses experience anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion, which adversely affects their mental health and the quality of care they provide
Objective:
This study aims to explore the impact of work-related stress on emotional exhaustion among nurses and to assess whether listening to podcasts can mitigate these effects.
Methods:
A sample of 271 clinical nurses aged 20 to 65 was divided into two groups: an experimental group (nurses who regularly listen to podcasts) and a control group (nurses who do not listen to podcasts). Data were collected via an online survey conducted between March 1 and March 31, 2023. Ethical approval was obtained from the local ethics committee (IRB No. YGHIRB20230421B). The primary outcomes—work stress and emotional exhaustion—were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Results:
The analysis showed no significant differences in work stress or emotional exhaustion between the two groups. However, emotional dissonance was identified as a significant predictor of emotional exhaustion in both groups. Nurses who regularly listened to podcasts exhibited slightly lower levels of emotional exhaustion, indicating a potential, albeit limited, moderating effect of podcasts on emotional well-being.
Conclusions:
While podcasts alone may not significantly reduce work stress or emotional exhaustion among nurses, they could serve as a supplementary tool for emotional support. However, broader and more comprehensive interventions are required to address the underlying causes of stress and emotional exhaustion in this population. Further research is needed to examine the long-term benefits of integrating podcasts with other digital tools for holistic stress management in healthcare settings
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Copyright
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