Association between organizational justice and serious psychological distress among hospital nursing staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Publisher: Wiley on behalf of the Japan Academy of Nursing Science Country of Publication: Japan NLM ID: 101227890 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1742-7924 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17427924 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Jpn J Nurs Sci Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Tōkyō : Wiley on behalf of the Japan Academy of Nursing Science, c2004-

COVID-19*/epidemiology ; COVID-19*/nursing ; Nursing Staff, Hospital*/psychology ; Social Justice*; Humans ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Male ; Japan/epidemiology ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Psychological Distress ; Pandemics ; Stress, Psychological/epidemiology ; SARS-CoV-2

Aim: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the association between organizational justice and psychological distress among hospital nursing staff is underexplored. Thus, this cross-sectional study, conducted in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, examined the relationship between organizational justice and serious psychological distress (SPD) among hospital nursing staff during COVID-19.
Methods: The study surveyed 783 hospital nursing staff using the Organizational Justice Questionnaire and Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire. The Kessler K6 scale was used to measure SPD. Sociodemographic and occupational characteristics were controlled for as potential confounders.
Results: The prevalence of SPD was 14.4%, with a mean K6 score of 6.5. Moderate procedural justice (odds ratio [OR] = 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14-4.94, p = .021) and low distributive justice (effort-reward imbalance) (OR = 3.66, 95% CI = 2.01-6.67, p < .001) were associated with SPD, even after adjustment for confounders. Interactional justice showed significance only in the crude model. Effort-reward imbalance had the strongest association with SPD.
Conclusions: The findings showed that moderate procedural justice and low distributive justice were associated with SPD, highlighting the need for organizational interventions to address these factors. Imbalances in effort/reward had the greatest impact, highlighting the critical role of distributive justice in mental health. Thus, in the context of a pandemic, extreme procedural justice is not necessarily associated with mental health, and efforts to ensure distributive justice are critical to improving the mental health of hospital nursing staff. Moreover, organizational stressors should be addressed during disruptive conditions such as infectious disease outbreaks.
(© 2024 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.)

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Keywords: COVID‐19; Japan; effort‐reward imbalance; hospital nursing staff; organizational justice; psychological distress

Date Created: 20240308 Date Completed: 20240701 Latest Revision: 20240701

20240702

10.1111/jjns.12595

38456585