Psychological disorders threaten the health and quality of healthcare services provided by clinical nurses in China. Nurses play a crucial role in China's healthcare system, boasting the highest number of registered nurses globally, approximately 3.8 million(1). Compared to other medical professions, nursing in China faces significant stress, burnout, and relatively low wages(2, 3). Furthermore, there is a severe shortage of nurses in China, with only 2.7 nurses per 1000 people, far below the global average and levels seen in developed countries such as the United States and Switzerland(4). This shortage has substantially increased nurse turnover rates, rising from 6.5% in recent years to 30%(5).
The relationship between perceived stress and burnout among nurses has been the subject of extensive research, with numerous studies consistently demonstrating a significant positive correlation between these two constructs(6, 7). The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory provides a comprehensive framework for understanding this relationship(8). According to the JD-R model, job characteristics can be categorized into job demands (e.g., high workload, emotional labor, time pressure) and job resources (e.g., social support, autonomy, skill variety). Job demands require sustained physical or psychological effort and are associated with physiological and psychological costs, while job resources help achieve work goals, reduce job demands, or stimulate personal growth(9).
The JD-R model posits that burnout develops through two primary processes: (1) an energy depletion process, where high job demands exhaust employees' mental and physical resources, leading to emotional exhaustion, and (2) a motivational process, where lack of resources leads to disengagement and reduced personal accomplishment(10). In this context, perceived stress acts as a mediator, particularly in the energy depletion process. As nurses perceive higher levels of stress due to increased job demands, they experience greater emotional exhaustion, which is the core component of burnout(11). Longitudinal studies have further revealed a potentially cyclical and self-reinforcing relationship between stress and burnout: prolonged high-stress states can lead to burnout, which in turn may increase an individual's sensitivity to stress(12). This dynamic interplay creates a negative spiral, where burnout can lead to an increased perception of job demands and a decreased ability to utilize available resources(13). Notably, China's unique cultural background, including collectivist values and hierarchical social structures, might influence nurses' stress perception and coping strategies, thereby affecting the development of burnout(14). This cultural aspect adds a layer of complexity to the stress-burnout relationship in the Chinese nursing context. Given these findings, an in-depth exploration of the specific associations between perceived stress and the dimensions of burnout symptoms among Chinese nurses holds significant theoretical and practical implications.
Network analysis (NA) is increasingly applied in the field of psychology, particularly in studying complex psychological phenomena, interactions between individuals, and patterns of psychological disorders transmission. At its core, network analysis revolves around two key elements: "nodes" and "edges"(15). Each node in a network model represents a specific psychological phenomenon or symptom, while edges denote the strength of relationships between these nodes(16). Central nodes typically have more connections in the network or are connected to other important nodes, playing crucial roles in information dissemination and influence diffusion(17). Removal of these nodes can lead to significant changes or fragmentation within the network, which has important insights into the spread of disease, the structure of society, and the stability of other complex systems(18). In disease control, optimizing resource allocation to regulate the influence of these nodes can greatly enhance intervention effectiveness. In NA, bridge symptoms are often used to describe key nodes or factors that connect different subsystems or groups within complex systems(17). Specifically, bridge symptoms refer to those that facilitate connections between different psychological disorders or symptoms. These symptoms may not be a core feature of any single mental illness, but they are shared across multiple disorders or symptoms and serve to facilitate the interaction or transmission of these disorders or symptoms(19). Bridge symptoms are often critical to understanding how different diseases are interconnected and how cross-disease interventions and treatment strategies can be developed.
Despite extensive research exploring the relationship between stress and burnout, studies to date have yet to elucidate the network structure of perceived stress and burnout among nurses. Such an understanding is crucial for developing tailored interventions to address nurse burnout. This study employed NA to investigate the interrelationships between perceived stress and burnout symptoms in a cohort of Chinese nurses, aiming to identify central symptoms and delineate the specific structure of this network.