The effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual and organizational outcomes in nurses: A cross-sectional and correlational study

The effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual and organizational outcomes in nurses: A cross-sectional and correlational study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual and organizational outcomes in nurses: A cross-sectional and correlational study FATMA DEMİRKAYA, Betül SÖNMEZ This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Nurses are at risk due to emotional demands and the possibility of physical and mental health deterioration. This is because they often have to care for physically or mentally vulnerable patients. This study aimed to examine the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on nurses’ physical health, mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and quality of nursing care (organizational outcomes). Methods: A correlational and cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected between September 2020 and January 2022. The study sample consisted of 357 nurses working in Türkiye and 465 patients hospitalized in units where these nurses provided care. The data pertaining to the nurses were collected by the General Information Questionnaire-Nurse, the Emotional Contagion Scale, the Physical and Mental Health Scale, the Job Performance Scale. The data pertaining to the patients were collected by the General Information Questionnaire-Patient and the Care Behaviors Inventory-24. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and simple regression analysis. Results: Pearson correlation analysis showed a statistically significant, very weak positive correlation between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health. There was no significant correlation between the nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion and the quality of care perceived by the patients, examined as physical health, job performance. Regression analysis showed that sensitivity to emotional contagion had a statistically significant negative effect on nurses' mental health. Conclusion The data showed sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health among the nurses. Sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affects nurses’ mental health. Despite the presence of sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health of the nurses, work performance and quality of care perceived by the patient were high. It may show that nurses do not display the negativity they experience in their care behaviors. Nurse managers should develop supportive systems in the workplace to support the continuity of quality care. emotions sensitivity to emotional contagion nurses nursing outcomes quality of nursing care Figures Figure 1 1 BACKGROUND Health institutions constantly aim for high-quality healthcare, and many actors play a role in the delivery of services. The implementation of protocols in the healthcare sector is of paramount importance, as failure to implement them correctly can lead to dire consequences, including the potential for disability and even death [ 1 ]. Care represents a pivotal component within the overarching framework of the healthcare system. It is imperative to acknowledge the pivotal role that nurses, as primary healthcare providers, play in enhancing the quality of care for patients and the public [ 2 ]. The nature of nursing is inherently emotional, as it frequently entails the care of patients who are physically or mentally fragile. In the working environment of a hospital, where many intense and diverse emotions arise, nurses need to recognize and manage their emotions not only to provide quality care services but also for their own mental and physical health [ 3 ]. Nurses who cannot control their emotions experience emotional exhaustion in the workplace [ 4 ]. If nurses can recognize and manage their emotions, it will be easier for them to make clinical decisions, deal with different situations, and improve their nursing practices [ 5 – 6 ]. In summary, emotions are an integral part of the nursing process [ 5 ]. Therefore, the study of emotional processes makes an important contribution to the value and improvement of healthcare. Emotional interaction is considered a form of communication that involves the exchange of emotions, actions, and experiences among nurses and other healthcare professionals involved in patient care [ 5 ]. This exchange of emotions was conceptualized by Hatfield, Cacioppo and Rapson as “emotional contagion” (1993) [ 7 ]. Emotional contagion is defined as a personal characteristic that indicates the extent to which employees personally experience and amplify the (positive and negative) emotions of those around them [ 8 ]. It has been observed that emotions can be transmitted in a manner analogous to the propagation of diseases, contingent upon the presence of a source and a receiver [ 9 ]. The sensitivity of the individual is an effective factor in this context. Sensitivity is defined as the tendency to automatically imitate and synchronize the expressions of others and to experience or capture the emotions of others through afferent feedback from facial or skeletal activity. The perception of an emotional expression can cause the perceiver to imitate the elements of that expression and consequently experience similar emotional states (e.g., smiles to smiles, etc.) [ 10 ]. Individuals who demonstrate a heightened response to high-intensity emotional stimuli are particularly susceptible to emotional reactivity [ 11 ]. It has been established that the objectives of individuals experiencing emotional contagion are often aligned, and the emotions of one individual can influence the emotional state of the entire group [ 12 ]. In hospital environments characterized by high levels of sensory stimulation, nurses exhibit a heightened propensity to disclose the emotional expressions to which they are exposed. This observation suggests the potential for emotional contagion to occur within the hospital environment [ 10 ]. Healthcare workers are expected to be more sensitive to emotional contagion than other employees [ 13 ]. Hatfield et al. (1993) stated that nurses are among the professions that need to develop resistance to contagion [ 7 ]. Emotions have been found to be transmitted between physicians, nurses, and patients [ 13 ], and between nurses and their colleagues [ 14 ]. Petitta et al. (2016) discovered that nurses frequently experience emotions such as joy and anger towards their managers, colleagues, and patients [ 13 ]. Emotional experiences at work influence employee behavior, which is related to individual and organizational outcomes [ 15 ]. Emotions are known to influence physical and mental health [ 16 ]. The capacity to discern and regulate one's own emotions, as well as those of others, is paramount to ensuring optimal physical, mental, and social well-being. Emotional problems in the workplace are a significant concern for healthcare professionals. These problems have individual consequences, such as a decrease in productivity and overall quality of life, as well as reduced physical and emotional well-being [ 17 ]. The physical and mental health of workers who alter, suppress or mimic the emotions expected of them in order to conform to workplace goals in other words, who emotionally labor are negatively affected and their overall health is weakened [ 18 , 19 ]. Previous studies have shown that work-related stressors lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and physical health problems, such as heart disease [ 16 ]. Given the numerous stressors to which nurses are exposed in the workplace, the impact of workplace stress on mental and physical health is exacerbated [ 20 ]. The mental workload of nurses [ 21 ] and the prevalence of mental health problems (anxiety and depression) in nurses are high [ 22 ]. In summary, the literature indicates that nurses working in a stressful environment, such as a hospital, experience a significant physical and psychological burden [ 21 , 23 ]. A substantial body of research has demonstrated that more than half of nurses do not possess optimal physical and mental well-being [ 24 ]. Specifically, their physical health is moderate and their mental health is poor [ 25 ]. Emotional responses in professional settings elicit consequences that manifest both at the individual level and within organizational frameworks. Healthcare professionals are particularly susceptible to stress and burnout, as their roles involve the care of human lives, which can have adverse consequences for their patients [ 17 ]. The emotional weakness of nurses affects the quality of care [ 26 ]. The provision of high-quality and effective nursing care has been demonstrated to result in a reduction in hospitalization, costs, and complications, as well as an increase in patient satisfaction [ 27 ]. However, anxiety and tension reduce the quality of care [ 17 ]. Nurses need to control their feelings of anger and anxiety and use empathy to provide quality care [ 28 ]. The physical and mental exertion inherent to the nursing profession can result in emotional exhaustion and a consequent diminution in the ability to provide quality care [ 29 ]. In summary, emotional control plays an important role in shaping nurses' caring behaviors [ 30 ]. Nurses' personal emotions also play an important role in their performance [ 31 ]. Job performance is another organizational outcome of the emotional experience at work. Healthcare workers need to develop their social relationships and improve their job performance by keeping their emotions under control [ 32 ]. Variables such as bullying [ 33 ] and stress [ 34 ] have been found to decrease nurses’ job performance. The phenomenon of emotional contagion, in which individuals' emotional states are influenced by the emotions of others, has been demonstrated to exert a detrimental effect on the professional performance of employees [ 35 ]. Barsade (2002) found that those who experience positive emotions experience less conflict, and their work performance increases [ 36 ]. Previous studies have reported that sensitivity to emotional contagion affects performance [ 37 , 38 ]. Given the pivotal role nurses play in patient care and health services, it is imperative to examine the individual and organizational repercussions of sensitivity to emotional contagion. Investigating these results will indirectly contribute to improving the quality, safety, and value of healthcare services. It is known that sensitivity to emotional contagion has both positive and negative effects on nurses. To the best of our knowledge, the individual (physical and mental health) and organizational consequences (job performance and quality of nursing care as assessed by patients) of nurses’ emotional influences have not yet been studied together. Examining these results can provide important evidence on how to increase the physical and mental health levels of nurses and how to improve job performance and quality of nursing care. In this context, this study aimed to examine the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and nursing care quality (organizational outcomes). 1.1 Hypothesis model The hypothesis model of this study is based on the existing literature on sensitivity to emotional contagion, physical and mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care (see Fig. 1 ). H 1 Sensitivity to emotional contagion affects nurses' (a) physical health, (b) mental health, (c) job performance, and (d) quality of care. H 2 Nurses' physical health affects (a) mental health, (b) job performance, and (c) quality of care. H 3 Nurses' mental health affects (a) physical health, (b) job performance, and (c) quality of care. H 4 Nurses' job performance affects the quality of care. H 5 Physical health has an indirect effect on the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion in nurses on (a) job performance and (c) quality of care. H 6 Mental health has an indirect effect on the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion in nurses on (a) job performance and (c) quality of care. 2 METHODS 2.1 Study design The study has a cross-sectional and correlational design. 2.2 Setting and participants The study population consisted of nurses (N = 1290) and patients from (N = 13174) four hospitals in Türkiye: a training and research hospital, two city hospitals, and a state hospital. Data were collected simultaneously from nurses and patients. The inclusion criteria for nurses were as follows: First, the nurses had to have at least six months of experience working in inpatient units. Second, they had to be willing to participate in the study voluntarily. To determine the sample size for the nurses, the minimum number of nurses to be included in the sample was set at 296 using the sample size calculation formula for a known finite population (N = 1290). Data were collected from nurses working in the hospitals’ inpatient clinics using convenience sampling. Participating nurses were asked to rate their level of sensitivity to emotional contagion, their physical and mental health, and their job performance. The quality of nursing care was assessed based on reports from volunteer patients who were hospitalized for at least three nights during the data collection period, were conscious, had no communication barriers, could read and write in Turkish, were 18 years or older, and volunteered. However, since the comparisons are made with nurses, the number of patients must be equal to or greater than the minimum number of nurses (n = 296). Accordingly, the minimum number of patients included in this study was 296. Finally, 357 nurses and 465 patients completed the data collection instruments. 2.3 Measures 2.3.1 Data Collection Instruments for Nurses In order to obtain the characteristics of the participants, the researchers created separate information forms for nurses and patients. The information form for the nurses contained a total of 12 items on personal (gender, age, marital status, educational level, status of having children, and number of children) and professional characteristics (professional tenure, tenure in the then-current hospital and unit, work schedule, and weekly working hours). The Emotional Contagion Scale was developed by Doherty (1997) to determine how sensitive people are to capturing others' emotions [ 10 ]. The scale adapted into Turkish by Akın et al. (2015) was used in this study [ 39 ]. The scale consists of 15 one-dimensional, 5-point Likert-type items (1 = never, 5 = always). The higher the average score obtained from the scale, the higher the sensitivity to emotional contagion. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.90 in the original scale [ 10 ], 0.75 in the Turkish version [ 39 ], and 0.89 in this study. Physical and mental health was assessed using the Turkish version of the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire developed by Ware and Sherbourne (1992) Kocyigit et al., (1999) [ 40 – 41 ]. The nurses rated a total of 36 items, including 35 items covering the two main dimensions of physical and mental health and one item expressing the perceived change in health status compared to the previous year, namely, “Compared to one year ago, how would you rate your health in general now?”. The total score on the scale is 100 points, with scores for the two dimensions ranging from 0 to 100 points. High scores on this scale indicate a better state of health. The scale is composed of two distinct mean scores, which collectively summarize the physical and mental health scores. The summary of scores for physical and mental health were calculated using the guidelines established by Ware et al. (1993) and Ware et al. (1994) [ 42 – 43 ]. The Cronbach's alpha value for the physical and mental health dimensions were 0.62 and 0.94 in the original scale [ 40 ], 0.73 and 0.76 in the Turkish version [ 41 ], and 0.88 and 0.75 in this study, respectively. Job performance was assessed using the Turkish version of the Job Performance Scale (Col, 2008), developed by Kirkman and Rosen (1999) and later adapted by Sigler and Pearson (2000) into a four-item version [ 44 – 46 ]. Responses are recorded on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The Cronbach's alpha was 0.94 in the original scale [ 45 ], 0.83 in the short form of [ 46 ], 0.82 in the Turkish version [ 44 ] and 0.93 in this study. 2.3.2 Data Collection Instruments for Patients The patient information form contained a total of nine items about the patient (gender, age, marital status, and education level) and other information about the hospitalization (health status, length of stay in hospital, whether there was a companion, hospital, and unit). Patients (or their family members) were asked to rate the quality of care provided by nurses by filling out the Care Behavior Scale-24. The Care Behavior Scale-24 was developed by Wu et al. (2006) to assess the quality of nursing care [ 47 ]. It consists of two parts in which nurses (24 items) and patients (24 items) jointly evaluate the nursing care process, with a total of 42 items. In this study, the Turkish version [ 48 ] of the 24-item part of the scale for patients was used (e.g., giving the patient the opportunity to explain their feelings about their illness or treatment). The scale consists of four dimensions (assurance, knowledge-ability, respect, and engagement) and is answered on a 6-point Likert scale (1 = never, 6 = always). The total scale score was calculated by dividing the sum of all item scores by 24. The higher the score, the higher the quality of care perceived by the patients. The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.88 in the original scale [ 47 ], 0.96 in the Turkish version [ 48 ] and 0.96 in this study. 2.4 Ethical considerations Prior to the start of the research, ethical approval was obtained from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa with the decision dated 04/09/2020 and number 52832. Written official permission to conduct the research in the planned hospitals was obtained from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Health. Permission was received via e-mail from the researchers who adapted the data collection tools used in the study to the Turkish language and conducted the validity and reliability studies. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were followed in conducting the study. 2.5 Data collection Study data was collected between September 2020 and January 2022. The researchers carried out the data collection procedures. After the nurses were fully informed about the purpose of the study, consent forms were signed. Furthermore, we provided assurance that all data would be used exclusively for research purposes and would remain anonymous. The nurses received the data collection tools in person and were allotted 15 to 20 minutes to complete them. The researchers visited the patients, obtained their signatures on consent forms, and then provided instructions for completing the data collection tools. The duration of this process was approximately 15–20 minutes. 2.6 Data analysis Data analysis was performed with SPSS v26.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the variables of the study. Continuous variables were checked for normality using the values for skewness and kurtosis, and were found to be within the acceptable range (skewness: ±1.5, kurtosis: ±7) [ 49 ]. When variables related to nurses were analyzed among themselves, they were evaluated at the individual level (357 nurses). When variables related to patients were added, they were evaluated at the unit level, by comparing the nurses and the patients they cared for in the same unit (21 units). Pearson’s correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between sensitivity to emotional contagion and physical health, mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care. A simple regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care. Significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01 were used throughout the study. 3 RESULTS 3.1 Characteristics of nurses and patients Of the nurses, 80.1% were female, 70% were between 18–28 years old, 60.2% were single, and 47.9% had a bachelor's degree. Of the nurses, 74.2% were childless, and 52% had two or more children. Most nurses (65.5%) had been in the profession for five years or less, and the length of time they had worked at the hospital was 6–10 years (46.8%). Of the nurses, 34.7% worked at a city hospital, 58% worked in internal medicine units, 79.2% worked rotating shifts (day and night), and 80.39% worked 45–55 hours per week (see Table 1 ). Table 1 Characteristics of nurses (N = 357) Variables Category Frequency (n) Percentage (%) Gender Female 286 80.1 Male 71 19.9 Total 357 100 Age 18–28 years old 251 70 29–39 years old 72 20 40 years and above 34 10 Total 357 100 Marital status Single 215 60.2 Married 142 39.8 Total 357 100 Educational level High school 44 12.3 Associate degree 35 9.8 Licence 171 47.9 Postgraduate 107 30 Total 357 100 Having children No 265 74.2 Yes 92 25.8 Total 357 100 Number of children 1 child 44 48 2 children and above 48 52 Length of professional experience 5 years or less 234 65.5 6–10 years 62 17.4 11–15 years 20 5.6 16 years and above 41 11.5 Total 357 100 Years of employment in the hospital 5 years or less 117 32.8 6–10 years 167 46.8 11–15 years 30 8.4 16 years and above 43 12 Total 357 100 Hospital City hospital-1 72 20.2 Public hospital 46 12.9 Training and research hospital 115 32.2 City hospital-2 124 34.7 Total 357 100 Unit Internal 208 58 Surgical 149 42 Total 357 100 Work schedule Continuous day shift 67 18.8 Rotating shifts (day and night) 283 79.2 Continuous night shift 7 2 Total 357 100 Weekly working hours 45–55 hours 287 80.39 56–66 hours 63 17.65 67 hours and above 7 1.96 Total 357 100 Of the patients, 48.8% were female, 52% were 50 years old or older, 75.9% were single, and 43.4% had completed primary school. Of the patients, 50.3% were hospitalized in the training and research hospital, 52% were in the surgical units, and 67.1% had been hospitalized for 3–8 days. A total of 93.8% of the patients had a companion, and 47.1% stated their health status as "good" (see Table 2 ). Table 2 Characteristics of the patients (N = 465) Variables Category Frequency (n) Percentage (%) Gender Female 227 48.8 Male 238 51.2 Total 465 100 Age Under 18 years old 45 10 19–29 years old 63 14 30–40 years old 59 13 41–51 years old 51 11 52 years and older 247 52 Total 465 100 Marital status Single 353 75.9 Married 112 24.1 Total 465 100 Educational level Primary school 202 43.4 Middle school 130 28 High school 103 22.2 High education 30 6.4 Total 465 100 Hospital City hospital-1 84 18.1 Public hospital 64 13.8 Training and research hospital 234 50.3 City hospital-2 83 17.8 Total 465 100 Unit Internal 223 48 Surgical 242 52 Total 465 100 Total 465 100 Length of stay in hospital 3–8 days 312 67.1 9–14 days 93 20 15 days or more 60 12.9 Companion status Yes 436 93.8 No 29 6.2 Total 465 100 Health status Poor 44 9.5 Fair 156 33.5 Good 219 47.1 Very good 46 9.9 3.2 Descriptive findings regarding the scales The mean score of the nurses participating in the study for sensitivity to emotional contagion was 3.32 (SD = 0.69) (min 1.2, max 5), the mean score for sensitivity to negative emotional contagion was 3.21 (SD = 0.73) (min 1.22, max 5), and the mean score of positive emotional sensitivity to contagion score was 3.48 (SD = 0.78) (min 1.17, max 5). The mean score for physical health was 42.78 (SD = 10.97) (min 11.85, max 70.25), the mean score for mental health was 27.03 (SD = 14.49) (min 11.99, max 63.94), and the mean job performance score was 4.11 (SD = 0.84) (min 1, max 5) (see Table 3 ). Table 3 Sensitivity to emotional contagion and nurse outcomes (N = 357) Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Sensitivity to emotional contagion 1 2. Physical health -0.016 1 3. Mental health -0.163 ** 0.146 ** 1 4. Work performance 0.057 -0.002 0.065 1 5. Negative SEC 0.946** -0.039 -0.211** 0.040 1 6. Positive SEC 0.889** 0.018 -0.064 0.070 0.693** 1 Mean 3.31 42.78 27.03 4.11 3.21 3.48 SD 0.69 10.97 14.49 0.84 0.73 0.78 Median 3.80 58.39 75.93 4 3.22 3.50 Min-Max 1.2-5 11.85–70.25 11.99–63.94 1–5 1.22-5 1.17-5 Score range 1–5 0-100 0-100 1–5 1–5 1–5 SEC: Sensitivity to emotional contagion, SD: Standard deviation, ** p < 0.01 The nurses’ reported level of sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderate, physical health was poor, mental health was very poor, and work performance was high. The mean of quality of nursing care rated by the patients was 5.04 (SD = 0.82) (min 1, max 6) (see Table 4 ). Table 4 Sensitivity to emotional contagion, nurse and patient outcomes by units (N units =21). Variables 1 2 3 4 5 SEC 1 Physical health -0.033 1 Mental health -0.121** 0.153** 1 Work performance 0.107 0.012 0.064 1 Quality of care 0.079 -0.097 -0.037 0.033 1 Mean 3.32 42.48 26.68 4.09 5.04 SD 0.68 10.86 14.46 0.84 0.82 Median 3.8 58.39 75.93 4 5 Min-Max 1.2-5 11.85–70.25 11.99–63.94 1–5 1–6 Score range 1–5 0-100 0-100 1–5 1–6 SEC: Sensitivity to emotional contagion, SD: Standard deviation, ** p < 0.01 3.3 Relationships between sensitivity to emotional contagion and physical health, mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care A very weak significant negative correlation was found between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health (r= -0.163, p 0.05). H1a and H1c were not substantiated. A very weak positive significant correlation was found between nurses’ physical and mental health (r = 0.146, p 0.05). H2b and H2c were not substantiated. No significant correlation was found between nurses' mental health, job performance, and quality of care (see Table 3 ). H3b and H3c were not substantiated. In addition, correlations between sensitivity to contagion for positive and negative emotions and other variables were tested. A very weak negative correlation was found between sensitivity to contagion for negative emotions and mental health (r= -0.211, p < 0.01). A very weak negative correlation was found between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health (r= -0.121, p < 0.05) and a very weak positive correlation between physical health and mental health (r = 0.153, p < 0.01; Table 4 ) regarding the relationship between sensitivity to emotional contagion and nurse and patient outcomes at the unit level. H1b and H2a were also substantiated at the unit level. There was no significant correlation between the nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion and the quality of care perceived by the patients, examined as physical health, job performance, and patient outcome (p > 0.05) (Table 4 ). Thus, H1a, H1c, and H1d were not substantiated. There was no significant correlation between nurses' job performance and quality of care perceived by the patients examined as a patient outcome (p > 0.05) (Table 4 ). H4 was not substantiated. The hypotheses for determining the statistical effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health were also tested using regression analysis (Table 5 ). Sensitivity to emotional contagion had a statistically significant negative impact on nurses' mental health (p < 0.01). Thus, H1b was confirmed by the regression analysis. Mental health had a statistically significant positive effect on nurses’ physical health (p < 0.01). H2a was also substantiated by the regression analysis (Table 5 ). Table 5 Direct effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health (N = 357). Dependent variables Independent variables β p 95% CI ( Lower-Upper bound ) Model DurbinWatson Mental health Constant 38.114 < 0.001** 31,029, 45,598 R 2 = 0.27 F = 9.679 1.680 Sensitivity to emotional contagion -3.398 0.002** -5.546, -1.250 Physical health Constant 39.806 < 0.001** 37.409,42.203 R 2 = 0.21 F = 7.713 1.560 Mental health 0.110 0.006** 0.032, 0.189 Linear regression analysis, **p < 0.01, CI: Confidence interval As there was no statistically significant relationship between sensitivity to emotional contagion and job performance and quality of care, an indirect effect analysis for physical and mental health was not possible. Thus, H5 and H6 were not substantiated. 4 DISCUSSION To our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously examine the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual (physical and mental health) and organizational (job performance and quality of nursing care) outcomes. The findings showed that sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderate among nurses. The nurses indicated that their physical health was poor and their mental health was very poor. However, the nurses' job performance and the quality of care perceived by the patients were found to be high. Sensitivity to emotional contagion was negatively related to nurses' mental health, while mental health was positively related to physical health. Regression analysis also shows that sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affected nurses' mental health. Contrary to expectations, sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with nurses' physical health, job performance, and patients' perceived quality of care. Study found that sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderately pronounced. Previous studies investigating sensitivity to emotional contagion in physicians, nurses, and patients [ 13 ], and in nurses [ 14 ], Petitta et al. (2016) found that nurses are sensitive to emotions of joy and anger from their managers, colleagues, and patients [ 13 ]. Totterdell et al. (1998) found that the daily mood of nurses is sensitive and similar to the collective mood of other teammates [ 50 ]. The results of the study are consistent with existing studies on this topic. Sensitivity to emotional contagion in the work environment has been found to have a negative impact on nurses’ mental health. This could be due to the fact that nurses are more sensitive to negative emotions. Previous studies have reported that negative emotions elicit faster and stronger emotional, behavioral, and cognitive responses than neutral or positive emotions [ 51 ]. In addition, employees with a high sensitivity to emotional contagion have a higher risk of reduced well-being [ 52 ]. When evaluated at the unit level, it was found that nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with physical health, job performance, or perceived quality of patient care. This result is inconsistent with previous research findings. Earlier literature [ 35 , 37 – 38 ] indicates that sensitivity to emotional contagion affects performance. Negative stress affects physical and mental health and, consequently, job performance [ 34 ]. Gurkova et al. (2011) found that nurses' personal emotions influence their job performance [ 31 ]. Emotional exhaustion reduces the ability to provide quality care [ 29 ]. Emotional weakness in nurses [ 26 ] and anxiety and tension in healthcare workers [ 17 ] have been found to negatively affect the quality of care. The discrepancy between this study's results and those of preceding studies may be attributable to nurses' varied perceptions of performance. Nurse performance may be impacted by a number of factors, including emotional contagion and health concerns. However, if nurses perceive high performance as a responsibility demanded by the profession or a conscientious obligation, these factors may not negatively influence their performance. Ellershaw et al. (2015) reported that conscientiousness is strongly related to all performance indicators and that conscientiousness may be an important requirement in nursing [ 53 ]. Furthermore, successful performance in nursing is characterized by nurses' high commitment to their work and rigorous performance [ 54 ]. This may also be due to nurses’ perceiving their work as meaningful. If nurses perceive their work as meaningful, they will improve their own performance, because they believe that their efforts will benefit patients. In fact, a positive relationship was found between nurses' perceptions of meaningful work and their performance [ 2 ]. Another reason for this difference could be the presence of factors such as a positive work environment, supportive leadership, social support, and appropriate use of resources, apart from the nurses' own physical and mental health. A conducive work environment not only helps nurses cope with stress but also enables them to improve their performance [ 55 ]. Despite the shortage of nurses, materials, equipment, and financial resources, supportive leadership is reported to improve nurses' performance [ 56 ]. Blanco-Donoso et al. (2023) reported that nursing home employees, despite encountering elevated work demands, scarce resources, frequent exposure to patients in critical condition or experiencing distress, and profound emotional fatigue, exhibit an augmentation in their professional and job fulfillment through the acquisition of social support within the work environment [ 4 ]. This phenomenon can also be explained by the literature that emphasizes the positive role of negative affect in motivation. In the study conducted by He (2023), the hypothesis was proposed that individuals experiencing a depressed mood may be driven to allocate more effort toward their tasks with the objective of attaining predetermined objectives [ 57 ]. Negative moods are associated with increased effort on serious tasks that are perceived as rewarding and an increased focus on meeting performance standards [ 58 ]. Therefore, negative affect can in some cases increase persistence and decrease the self-sabotaging behavior [ 59 ]. Negative mood is associated with an increased belief in the value of a task [ 59 ]. Forgas (2013) found that people in a negative mood make fewer judgment errors, are more motivated, and are more sensitive to social events [ 58 ]. In a study in which happy and sad participants were given a challenging task, participants in a negative mood spent more time on the task, showed more patience, asked more questions, and provided a greater number of accurate responses. 4.1 Strengths and limitations The study benefits from being adequately powered within a robust research design and a diverse sample. However, study had certain limitations. The measurement of variables based on nurses' self-reports may have led to a bias in the results. Future studies should use data from other sources to corroborate these findings. Future studies should also use objective indicators of working conditions (e.g., administrative staff data) and nursing care outcomes (e.g., medication errors, falls, infections, and pressure ulcers) to measure nurses’ job performance and the quality of nursing care. Another limitation is that the study sample consisted only of nurses working in public hospitals and inpatient units. Future studies should also include nurses working in private hospitals and non-inpatient units. The relationships between variables were examined using a cross-sectional design, which prohibits causal conclusions. Another limitation of this study is the possibility that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic during the data collection period may have had an extraordinary impact on the nurses’ physical and mental health status during the period of data collection. 5 CONCLUSION The present study offers substantiation of the associations between sensitivity to emotional contagion, physical health, mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and quality of nursing care (organizational outcomes) in nurses. It was found that sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affected mental health in nurses. However, sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with nurses' physical health, job performance, or patient-perceived quality of care. Nurses may be exposed to high emotional demands from their patients, families, and colleagues, which greatly affects their well-being and health. The main practical result of the study is that it is important to create appropriate working conditions that increase resilience to emotional contagion in order to prevent nurses' mental health from being negatively affected. The results showed that despite sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health, nurses' reported job performance and patients' perceived quality of care were high. These study results show that changes in nurses' emotions and physical and mental health status are not reflected in their performance and the quality of care. However, these results only refer to a cross-sectional period, and if the period is extended, the results may be different. Organizing trainings for nurses on emotional literacy, awareness, and self-compassion may be useful to reduce physical and emotional stress. Health screening and occupational health and safety measures should be implemented in health institutions to monitor and assess the physical and mental health of nurses, and legal regulations on this issue should be implemented as soon as possible. It is recommended to re-examine nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion after the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with the results of this study. 5.1 Relevance to Clinical Practice Practices in hospitals that focus on nurses' well-being are institutionally supportive, and improving their ability to manage their emotions and create their own personal potential for support can lead to positive organizational outcomes such as quality patient care. In a supportive environment, staff are more likely to maintain a high level of performance. Nurse managers have a great responsibility in this regard. Abbreviations SEC Sensitivity to emotional contagion SD Standard deviation CI Confidence interval Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (approval date: 04/09/2020, approval number: 52832). Online informed consent was obtained from the participants, and permission to use the Turkish versions of the scales was granted by the researchers who adapted them. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was not registered as a clinical trial; therefore, a clinical trial number is not applicable. Clinical trial number Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Funding No financial support was received in the conduct of this research. Author Contribution Study design: FD BSData collection: FDData analyisis: FD, BSStudy supervision: FD, BSManuscript writing: FD, BSCritical revision for important intellectual content: FD, BSCorresponding Author: FD Acknowledgement We would like to thank the nurses and patients who participated in the study for their contributions. Data Availability All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.The dataset generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request. References McColl-Kennedy JR, Danaher TS, Gallan AS, Orsingher C, Lervik-Olsen L, Verma R. How do you feel today? Managing patient emotions during health care experiences to enhance well-being. J Bus Res. 2017;79:247–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.03.022 . Tong L. Relationship between meaningful work and job performance in nurses. Int J Nurs Pract. 2018;24(2):1–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.12620 . Lee M, Jang KS. 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Nursing care perceptions of nurses working in the emergency department. Hacettepe Univ Fac Nurs J. 2020;7(1):23–30. https://doi.org/10.31125/hunhemsire.715049 . Liu Y, Aungsuroch Y. Factors influencing nurse-assessed quality nursing care: A cross‐sectional study in hospitals. J Adv Nurs. 2018;74(4):935–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13507 . Kaur D, Sambasivan M, Kumar N. Effect of spiritual intelligence, emotional intelligence, psychological ownership and burnout on caring behavior of nurses: A cross-sectional study. J Clin Nurs. 2013;22:3192–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12386 . Gurkova E, Cap J, Ziakova K, Duriskova M. Job satisfaction and emotional subjective well-being among Slovak nurses. Int Nurs Rev. 2011;59:94–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2011.00922.x . Najimi A, Doustmohamadi P, Omid A. The relationship between emotional intelligence, social responsibility, and job performance in health service providers. 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Impact of emotional contagion on work performance of employees. Kelaniya J Hum Resour Manage. 2019;14(2):28–45. https://doi.org/10.4038/kjhrm.v14i2.68 . Akın A, Uysal R, Akın U. Validity and reliability of the Turkish Form of the Emotional Contagion Scale. Anemon Mus Alparslan Univ J Soc Sci. 2015;3(2):97–104. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.28290 . Ware JE, Sherbourne CD. The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992;30:473–83. Kocyigit H, Aydemir Ö, Fisek G, Olmez N, Memis AK. Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of Form-36 (KF-36). J Med Treat. 1999;12:102–6. Ware JE, Kosinski M, Keller SD. SF-36 Physical and Mental Health Summary Scales: A User's Manual. Boston: New England Medical Center; 1993. Ware JE, Snow KK, Kosinski M, Gandek B. SF-36 Health survey: Manual and interpretation guide. Boston: New England Medical Center; 1994. Col G. Effects of perceived empowerment on employee performance. 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Sydney: UNSW Sydney; 2017. https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/3285 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 14 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 09 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 04 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8757873","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":602068169,"identity":"8dbaae24-f024-45b3-bf37-c919f37ae635","order_by":0,"name":"FATMA DEMİRKAYA","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Yalova University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"FATMA","middleName":"","lastName":"DEMİRKAYA","suffix":""},{"id":602068170,"identity":"9b410634-98ec-489a-b1f6-0a3e53872d41","order_by":1,"name":"Betül SÖNMEZ","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Betül","middleName":"","lastName":"SÖNMEZ","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-01 17:08:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104547572,"identity":"bfaa05cd-6882-4ba3-9d65-283ab820d331","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-13 07:38:06","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":52132,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHypothesis model of the study.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8757873/v1/87b6d8e584a545bee49e0d12.png"},{"id":104780930,"identity":"3cf873dd-f2b3-4d61-a3de-0cec8107219e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 07:54:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1515509,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8757873/v1/d07908b3-fdfc-4f93-bbb5-ae4f31f9ec90.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual and organizational outcomes in nurses: A cross-sectional and correlational study","fulltext":[{"header":"1 BACKGROUND","content":"\u003cp\u003eHealth institutions constantly aim for high-quality healthcare, and many actors play a role in the delivery of services. The implementation of protocols in the healthcare sector is of paramount importance, as failure to implement them correctly can lead to dire consequences, including the potential for disability and even death [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e]. Care represents a pivotal component within the overarching framework of the healthcare system. It is imperative to acknowledge the pivotal role that nurses, as primary healthcare providers, play in enhancing the quality of care for patients and the public [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. The nature of nursing is inherently emotional, as it frequently entails the care of patients who are physically or mentally fragile. In the working environment of a hospital, where many intense and diverse emotions arise, nurses need to recognize and manage their emotions not only to provide quality care services but also for their own mental and physical health [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Nurses who cannot control their emotions experience emotional exhaustion in the workplace [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. If nurses can recognize and manage their emotions, it will be easier for them to make clinical decisions, deal with different situations, and improve their nursing practices [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. In summary, emotions are an integral part of the nursing process [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, the study of emotional processes makes an important contribution to the value and improvement of healthcare.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional interaction is considered a form of communication that involves the exchange of emotions, actions, and experiences among nurses and other healthcare professionals involved in patient care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. This exchange of emotions was conceptualized by Hatfield, Cacioppo and Rapson as \u0026ldquo;emotional contagion\u0026rdquo; (1993) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Emotional contagion is defined as a personal characteristic that indicates the extent to which employees personally experience and amplify the (positive and negative) emotions of those around them [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. It has been observed that emotions can be transmitted in a manner analogous to the propagation of diseases, contingent upon the presence of a source and a receiver [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. The sensitivity of the individual is an effective factor in this context. Sensitivity is defined as the tendency to automatically imitate and synchronize the expressions of others and to experience or capture the emotions of others through afferent feedback from facial or skeletal activity. The perception of an emotional expression can cause the perceiver to imitate the elements of that expression and consequently experience similar emotional states (e.g., smiles to smiles, etc.) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Individuals who demonstrate a heightened response to high-intensity emotional stimuli are particularly susceptible to emotional reactivity [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. It has been established that the objectives of individuals experiencing emotional contagion are often aligned, and the emotions of one individual can influence the emotional state of the entire group [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn hospital environments characterized by high levels of sensory stimulation, nurses exhibit a heightened propensity to disclose the emotional expressions to which they are exposed. This observation suggests the potential for emotional contagion to occur within the hospital environment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. Healthcare workers are expected to be more sensitive to emotional contagion than other employees [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Hatfield et al. (1993) stated that nurses are among the professions that need to develop resistance to contagion [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. Emotions have been found to be transmitted between physicians, nurses, and patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], and between nurses and their colleagues [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Petitta et al. (2016) discovered that nurses frequently experience emotions such as joy and anger towards their managers, colleagues, and patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional experiences at work influence employee behavior, which is related to individual and organizational outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Emotions are known to influence physical and mental health [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. The capacity to discern and regulate one's own emotions, as well as those of others, is paramount to ensuring optimal physical, mental, and social well-being. Emotional problems in the workplace are a significant concern for healthcare professionals. These problems have individual consequences, such as a decrease in productivity and overall quality of life, as well as reduced physical and emotional well-being [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. The physical and mental health of workers who alter, suppress or mimic the emotions expected of them in order to conform to workplace goals in other words, who emotionally labor are negatively affected and their overall health is weakened [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous studies have shown that work-related stressors lead to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and physical health problems, such as heart disease [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Given the numerous stressors to which nurses are exposed in the workplace, the impact of workplace stress on mental and physical health is exacerbated [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. The mental workload of nurses [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e] and the prevalence of mental health problems (anxiety and depression) in nurses are high [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. In summary, the literature indicates that nurses working in a stressful environment, such as a hospital, experience a significant physical and psychological burden [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. A substantial body of research has demonstrated that more than half of nurses do not possess optimal physical and mental well-being [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, their physical health is moderate and their mental health is poor [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional responses in professional settings elicit consequences that manifest both at the individual level and within organizational frameworks. Healthcare professionals are particularly susceptible to stress and burnout, as their roles involve the care of human lives, which can have adverse consequences for their patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. The emotional weakness of nurses affects the quality of care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. The provision of high-quality and effective nursing care has been demonstrated to result in a reduction in hospitalization, costs, and complications, as well as an increase in patient satisfaction [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. However, anxiety and tension reduce the quality of care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Nurses need to control their feelings of anger and anxiety and use empathy to provide quality care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e]. The physical and mental exertion inherent to the nursing profession can result in emotional exhaustion and a consequent diminution in the ability to provide quality care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. In summary, emotional control plays an important role in shaping nurses' caring behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurses' personal emotions also play an important role in their performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. Job performance is another organizational outcome of the emotional experience at work. Healthcare workers need to develop their social relationships and improve their job performance by keeping their emotions under control [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. Variables such as bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e] and stress [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e] have been found to decrease nurses\u0026rsquo; job performance. The phenomenon of emotional contagion, in which individuals' emotional states are influenced by the emotions of others, has been demonstrated to exert a detrimental effect on the professional performance of employees [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e]. Barsade (2002) found that those who experience positive emotions experience less conflict, and their work performance increases [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous studies have reported that sensitivity to emotional contagion affects performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGiven the pivotal role nurses play in patient care and health services, it is imperative to examine the individual and organizational repercussions of sensitivity to emotional contagion. Investigating these results will indirectly contribute to improving the quality, safety, and value of healthcare services. It is known that sensitivity to emotional contagion has both positive and negative effects on nurses. To the best of our knowledge, the individual (physical and mental health) and organizational consequences (job performance and quality of nursing care as assessed by patients) of nurses\u0026rsquo; emotional influences have not yet been studied together. Examining these results can provide important evidence on how to increase the physical and mental health levels of nurses and how to improve job performance and quality of nursing care. In this context, this study aimed to examine the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and nursing care quality (organizational outcomes).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e1.1 Hypothesis model\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe hypothesis model of this study is based on the existing literature on sensitivity to emotional contagion, physical and mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e1\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion affects nurses' (a) physical health, (b) mental health, (c) job performance, and (d) quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurses' physical health affects (a) mental health, (b) job performance, and (c) quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurses' mental health affects (a) physical health, (b) job performance, and (c) quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNurses' job performance affects the quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e5\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical health has an indirect effect on the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion in nurses on (a) job performance and (c) quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH\u003csub\u003e6\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eMental health has an indirect effect on the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion in nurses on (a) job performance and (c) quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"2 METHODS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Study design\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study has a cross-sectional and correlational design.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Setting and participants\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study population consisted of nurses (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1290) and patients from (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;13174) four hospitals in T\u0026uuml;rkiye: a training and research hospital, two city hospitals, and a state hospital. Data were collected simultaneously from nurses and patients. The inclusion criteria for nurses were as follows: First, the nurses had to have at least six months of experience working in inpatient units. Second, they had to be willing to participate in the study voluntarily. To determine the sample size for the nurses, the minimum number of nurses to be included in the sample was set at 296 using the sample size calculation formula for a known finite population (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1290). Data were collected from nurses working in the hospitals\u0026rsquo; inpatient clinics using convenience sampling. Participating nurses were asked to rate their level of sensitivity to emotional contagion, their physical and mental health, and their job performance. The quality of nursing care was assessed based on reports from volunteer patients who were hospitalized for at least three nights during the data collection period, were conscious, had no communication barriers, could read and write in Turkish, were 18 years or older, and volunteered. However, since the comparisons are made with nurses, the number of patients must be equal to or greater than the minimum number of nurses (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;296). Accordingly, the minimum number of patients included in this study was 296. Finally, 357 nurses and 465 patients completed the data collection instruments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3.1 Data Collection Instruments for Nurses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn order to obtain the characteristics of the participants, the researchers created separate information forms for nurses and patients. The information form for the nurses contained a total of 12 items on personal (gender, age, marital status, educational level, status of having children, and number of children) and professional characteristics (professional tenure, tenure in the then-current hospital and unit, work schedule, and weekly working hours).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Emotional Contagion Scale was developed by Doherty (1997) to determine how sensitive people are to capturing others' emotions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. The scale adapted into Turkish by Akın et al. (2015) was used in this study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e]. The scale consists of 15 one-dimensional, 5-point Likert-type items (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;never, 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;always). The higher the average score obtained from the scale, the higher the sensitivity to emotional contagion. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.90 in the original scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e], 0.75 in the Turkish version [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e], and 0.89 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical and mental health was assessed using the Turkish version of the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire developed by Ware and Sherbourne (1992) Kocyigit et al., (1999) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e]. The nurses rated a total of 36 items, including 35 items covering the two main dimensions of physical and mental health and one item expressing the perceived change in health status compared to the previous year, namely, \u0026ldquo;Compared to one year ago, how would you rate your health in general now?\u0026rdquo;. The total score on the scale is 100 points, with scores for the two dimensions ranging from 0 to 100 points. High scores on this scale indicate a better state of health. The scale is composed of two distinct mean scores, which collectively summarize the physical and mental health scores. The summary of scores for physical and mental health were calculated using the guidelines established by Ware et al. (1993) and Ware et al. (1994) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e]. The Cronbach's alpha value for the physical and mental health dimensions were 0.62 and 0.94 in the original scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e], 0.73 and 0.76 in the Turkish version [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e], and 0.88 and 0.75 in this study, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJob performance was assessed using the Turkish version of the Job Performance Scale (Col, 2008), developed by Kirkman and Rosen (1999) and later adapted by Sigler and Pearson (2000) into a four-item version [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR45\" citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e]. Responses are recorded on a 5-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree, 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree). The Cronbach's alpha was 0.94 in the original scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e], 0.83 in the short form of [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e], 0.82 in the Turkish version [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e] and 0.93 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3.2 Data Collection Instruments for Patients\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe patient information form contained a total of nine items about the patient (gender, age, marital status, and education level) and other information about the hospitalization (health status, length of stay in hospital, whether there was a companion, hospital, and unit).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePatients (or their family members) were asked to rate the quality of care provided by nurses by filling out the Care Behavior Scale-24. The Care Behavior Scale-24 was developed by Wu et al. (2006) to assess the quality of nursing care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e]. It consists of two parts in which nurses (24 items) and patients (24 items) jointly evaluate the nursing care process, with a total of 42 items. In this study, the Turkish version [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e] of the 24-item part of the scale for patients was used (e.g., giving the patient the opportunity to explain their feelings about their illness or treatment). The scale consists of four dimensions (assurance, knowledge-ability, respect, and engagement) and is answered on a 6-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;never, 6\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;always). The total scale score was calculated by dividing the sum of all item scores by 24. The higher the score, the higher the quality of care perceived by the patients. The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.88 in the original scale [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e], 0.96 in the Turkish version [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e] and 0.96 in this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4 Ethical considerations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e Prior to the start of the research, ethical approval was obtained from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa with the decision dated 04/09/2020 and number 52832. Written official permission to conduct the research in the planned hospitals was obtained from the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Health. Permission was received via e-mail from the researchers who adapted the data collection tools used in the study to the Turkish language and conducted the validity and reliability studies. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were followed in conducting the study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.5 Data collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudy data was collected between September 2020 and January 2022. The researchers carried out the data collection procedures. After the nurses were fully informed about the purpose of the study, consent forms were signed. Furthermore, we provided assurance that all data would be used exclusively for research purposes and would remain anonymous. The nurses received the data collection tools in person and were allotted 15 to 20 minutes to complete them. The researchers visited the patients, obtained their signatures on consent forms, and then provided instructions for completing the data collection tools. The duration of this process was approximately 15\u0026ndash;20 minutes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.6 Data analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData analysis was performed with SPSS v26.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the variables of the study. Continuous variables were checked for normality using the values for skewness and kurtosis, and were found to be within the acceptable range (skewness: \u0026plusmn;1.5, kurtosis: \u0026plusmn;7) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e]. When variables related to nurses were analyzed among themselves, they were evaluated at the individual level (357 nurses). When variables related to patients were added, they were evaluated at the unit level, by comparing the nurses and the patients they cared for in the same unit (21 units). Pearson\u0026rsquo;s correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between sensitivity to emotional contagion and physical health, mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care. A simple regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care. Significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01 were used throughout the study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 RESULTS","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Characteristics of nurses and patients\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOf the nurses, 80.1% were female, 70% were between 18\u0026ndash;28 years old, 60.2% were single, and 47.9% had a bachelor's degree. Of the nurses, 74.2% were childless, and 52% had two or more children. Most nurses (65.5%) had been in the profession for five years or less, and the length of time they had worked at the hospital was 6\u0026ndash;10 years (46.8%). Of the nurses, 34.7% worked at a city hospital, 58% worked in internal medicine units, 79.2% worked rotating shifts (day and night), and 80.39% worked 45\u0026ndash;55 hours per week (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics of nurses (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;357)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency (n)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFemale\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e286\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e80.1\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e18\u0026ndash;28 years old\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e251\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e70\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u0026ndash;39 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40 years and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSingle\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e215\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e60.2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e142\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational level\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAssociate degree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLicence\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e171\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e47.9\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePostgraduate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHaving children\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNo\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e265\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e74.2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e92\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of children\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 child\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 children and above\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e48\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e52\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLength of professional experience\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 years or less\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e234\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e65.5\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u0026ndash;10 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u0026ndash;15 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 years and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYears of employment in the hospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 years or less\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e117\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6\u0026ndash;10 years\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e167\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e46.8\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u0026ndash;15 years\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 years and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCity hospital-1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic hospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraining and research hospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e115\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCity hospital-2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e124\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e34.7\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInternal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e208\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e58\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurgical\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e149\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWork schedule\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContinuous day shift\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRotating shifts (day and night)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e283\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e79.2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eContinuous night shift\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWeekly working hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e45\u0026ndash;55 hours\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e287\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e80.39\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56\u0026ndash;66 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e67 hours and above\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.96\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e357\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOf the patients, 48.8% were female, 52% were 50 years old or older, 75.9% were single, and 43.4% had completed primary school. Of the patients, 50.3% were hospitalized in the training and research hospital, 52% were in the surgical units, and 67.1% had been hospitalized for 3\u0026ndash;8 days. A total of 93.8% of the patients had a companion, and 47.1% stated their health status as \"good\" (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics of the patients (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;465)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategory\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency (n)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e227\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMale\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e238\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e51.2\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnder 18 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u0026ndash;29 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u0026ndash;40 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u0026ndash;51 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e52 years and older\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e247\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e52\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSingle\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e353\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e75.9\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e112\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational level\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrimary school\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e202\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e43.4\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMiddle school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e130\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh school\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e103\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh education\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCity hospital-1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePublic hospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTraining and research hospital\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e234\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e50.3\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCity hospital-2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e83\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInternal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e223\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSurgical\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e242\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e52\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLength of stay in hospital\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3\u0026ndash;8 days\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e312\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e67.1\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u0026ndash;14 days\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 days or more\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCompanion status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eYes\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e436\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e93.8\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e465\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePoor\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFair\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e156\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGood\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e219\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e47.1\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVery good\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Descriptive findings regarding the scales\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean score of the nurses participating in the study for sensitivity to emotional contagion was 3.32 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.69) (min 1.2, max 5), the mean score for sensitivity to negative emotional contagion was 3.21 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.73) (min 1.22, max 5), and the mean score of positive emotional sensitivity to contagion score was 3.48 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.78) (min 1.17, max 5). The mean score for physical health was 42.78 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;10.97) (min 11.85, max 70.25), the mean score for mental health was 27.03 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;14.49) (min 11.99, max 63.94), and the mean job performance score was 4.11 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.84) (min 1, max 5) (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion and nurse outcomes (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;357)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1. Sensitivity to emotional contagion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2. Physical health\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.016\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3. Mental health\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e-0.163\u003c/b\u003e \u003csup\u003e\u003cb\u003e**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.146\u003c/b\u003e \u003csup\u003e\u003cb\u003e**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4. Work performance\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.057\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.002\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.065\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5. Negative SEC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.946**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.039\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e-0.211**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6. Positive SEC\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.889**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.018\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.064\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.070\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.693**\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMean\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.03\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSD\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.97\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.78\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMedian\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.80\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMin-Max\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2-5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.85\u0026ndash;70.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.99\u0026ndash;63.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.22-5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.17-5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eScore range\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0-100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0-100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eSEC: Sensitivity to emotional contagion, SD: Standard deviation, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe nurses\u0026rsquo; reported level of sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderate, physical health was poor, mental health was very poor, and work performance was high. The mean of quality of nursing care rated by the patients was 5.04 (SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.82) (min 1, max 6) (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion, nurse and patient outcomes by units (N \u003csub\u003eunits\u003c/sub\u003e =21).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSEC\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhysical health\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMental health\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.121**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.153**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWork performance\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.107\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.064\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eQuality of care\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.079\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.097\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.037\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.033\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMean\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42.48\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.09\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.04\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSD\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.86\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMedian\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMin-Max\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2-5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.85\u0026ndash;70.25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.99\u0026ndash;63.94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eScore range\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0-100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0-100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eSEC: Sensitivity to emotional contagion, SD: Standard deviation, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003e3.3 Relationships between sensitivity to emotional contagion and physical health, mental health, job performance, and quality of nursing care\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA very weak significant negative correlation was found between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health (r= -0.163, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). This confirmed hypothesis H1b. However, no significant correlation was found between physical health and workplace performance (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). H1a and H1c were not substantiated. A very weak positive significant correlation was found between nurses\u0026rsquo; physical and mental health (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.146, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Thus, H2a and H3a were substantiated. However, no significant correlation was found between nurses' physical health, job performance, and quality of care (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). H2b and H2c were not substantiated. No significant correlation was found between nurses' mental health, job performance, and quality of care (see Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). H3b and H3c were not substantiated. In addition, correlations between sensitivity to contagion for positive and negative emotions and other variables were tested. A very weak negative correlation was found between sensitivity to contagion for negative emotions and mental health (r= -0.211, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA very weak negative correlation was found between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health (r= -0.121, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) and a very weak positive correlation between physical health and mental health (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.153, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01; Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e) regarding the relationship between sensitivity to emotional contagion and nurse and patient outcomes at the unit level. H1b and H2a were also substantiated at the unit level. There was no significant correlation between the nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion and the quality of care perceived by the patients, examined as physical health, job performance, and patient outcome (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, H1a, H1c, and H1d were not substantiated. There was no significant correlation between nurses' job performance and quality of care perceived by the patients examined as a patient outcome (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). H4 was not substantiated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe hypotheses for determining the statistical effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health were also tested using regression analysis (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). Sensitivity to emotional contagion had a statistically significant negative impact on nurses' mental health (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). Thus, H1b was confirmed by the regression analysis. Mental health had a statistically significant positive effect on nurses\u0026rsquo; physical health (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01). H2a was also substantiated by the regression analysis (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on physical and mental health (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;357).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDependent variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndependent variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e( Lower-Upper bound )\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDurbinWatson\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMental health\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.114\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31,029, 45,598\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.27\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;9.679\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.680\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.398\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.002**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.546, -1.250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical health\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstant\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.806\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.409,42.203\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.21\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.713\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.560\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMental health\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.110\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032, 0.189\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eLinear regression analysis, **p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01, CI: Confidence interval\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs there was no statistically significant relationship between sensitivity to emotional contagion and job performance and quality of care, an indirect effect analysis for physical and mental health was not possible. Thus, H5 and H6 were not substantiated.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eTo our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously examine the effects of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual (physical and mental health) and organizational (job performance and quality of nursing care) outcomes. The findings showed that sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderate among nurses. The nurses indicated that their physical health was poor and their mental health was very poor. However, the nurses' job performance and the quality of care perceived by the patients were found to be high. Sensitivity to emotional contagion was negatively related to nurses' mental health, while mental health was positively related to physical health. Regression analysis also shows that sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affected nurses' mental health. Contrary to expectations, sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with nurses' physical health, job performance, and patients' perceived quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStudy found that sensitivity to emotional contagion was moderately pronounced. Previous studies investigating sensitivity to emotional contagion in physicians, nurses, and patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], and in nurses [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], Petitta et al. (2016) found that nurses are sensitive to emotions of joy and anger from their managers, colleagues, and patients [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Totterdell et al. (1998) found that the daily mood of nurses is sensitive and similar to the collective mood of other teammates [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e]. The results of the study are consistent with existing studies on this topic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion in the work environment has been found to have a negative impact on nurses\u0026rsquo; mental health. This could be due to the fact that nurses are more sensitive to negative emotions. Previous studies have reported that negative emotions elicit faster and stronger emotional, behavioral, and cognitive responses than neutral or positive emotions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e]. In addition, employees with a high sensitivity to emotional contagion have a higher risk of reduced well-being [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen evaluated at the unit level, it was found that nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with physical health, job performance, or perceived quality of patient care. This result is inconsistent with previous research findings. Earlier literature [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e] indicates that sensitivity to emotional contagion affects performance. Negative stress affects physical and mental health and, consequently, job performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Gurkova et al. (2011) found that nurses' personal emotions influence their job performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. Emotional exhaustion reduces the ability to provide quality care [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Emotional weakness in nurses [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e] and anxiety and tension in healthcare workers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] have been found to negatively affect the quality of care.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe discrepancy between this study's results and those of preceding studies may be attributable to nurses' varied perceptions of performance. Nurse performance may be impacted by a number of factors, including emotional contagion and health concerns. However, if nurses perceive high performance as a responsibility demanded by the profession or a conscientious obligation, these factors may not negatively influence their performance. Ellershaw et al. (2015) reported that conscientiousness is strongly related to all performance indicators and that conscientiousness may be an important requirement in nursing [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, successful performance in nursing is characterized by nurses' high commitment to their work and rigorous performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e]. This may also be due to nurses\u0026rsquo; perceiving their work as meaningful. If nurses perceive their work as meaningful, they will improve their own performance, because they believe that their efforts will benefit patients. In fact, a positive relationship was found between nurses' perceptions of meaningful work and their performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Another reason for this difference could be the presence of factors such as a positive work environment, supportive leadership, social support, and appropriate use of resources, apart from the nurses' own physical and mental health. A conducive work environment not only helps nurses cope with stress but also enables them to improve their performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite the shortage of nurses, materials, equipment, and financial resources, supportive leadership is reported to improve nurses' performance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e]. Blanco-Donoso et al. (2023) reported that nursing home employees, despite encountering elevated work demands, scarce resources, frequent exposure to patients in critical condition or experiencing distress, and profound emotional fatigue, exhibit an augmentation in their professional and job fulfillment through the acquisition of social support within the work environment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis phenomenon can also be explained by the literature that emphasizes the positive role of negative affect in motivation. In the study conducted by He (2023), the hypothesis was proposed that individuals experiencing a depressed mood may be driven to allocate more effort toward their tasks with the objective of attaining predetermined objectives [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e]. Negative moods are associated with increased effort on serious tasks that are perceived as rewarding and an increased focus on meeting performance standards [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, negative affect can in some cases increase persistence and decrease the self-sabotaging behavior [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. Negative mood is associated with an increased belief in the value of a task [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. Forgas (2013) found that people in a negative mood make fewer judgment errors, are more motivated, and are more sensitive to social events [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e]. In a study in which happy and sad participants were given a challenging task, participants in a negative mood spent more time on the task, showed more patience, asked more questions, and provided a greater number of accurate responses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Strengths and limitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study benefits from being adequately powered within a robust research design and a diverse sample. However, study had certain limitations. The measurement of variables based on nurses' self-reports may have led to a bias in the results. Future studies should use data from other sources to corroborate these findings. Future studies should also use objective indicators of working conditions (e.g., administrative staff data) and nursing care outcomes (e.g., medication errors, falls, infections, and pressure ulcers) to measure nurses\u0026rsquo; job performance and the quality of nursing care. Another limitation is that the study sample consisted only of nurses working in public hospitals and inpatient units. Future studies should also include nurses working in private hospitals and non-inpatient units. The relationships between variables were examined using a cross-sectional design, which prohibits causal conclusions. Another limitation of this study is the possibility that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic during the data collection period may have had an extraordinary impact on the nurses\u0026rsquo; physical and mental health status during the period of data collection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5 CONCLUSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present study offers substantiation of the associations between sensitivity to emotional contagion, physical health, mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and quality of nursing care (organizational outcomes) in nurses. It was found that sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affected mental health in nurses. However, sensitivity to emotional contagion was not associated with nurses' physical health, job performance, or patient-perceived quality of care. Nurses may be exposed to high emotional demands from their patients, families, and colleagues, which greatly affects their well-being and health. The main practical result of the study is that it is important to create appropriate working conditions that increase resilience to emotional contagion in order to prevent nurses' mental health from being negatively affected. The results showed that despite sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health, nurses' reported job performance and patients' perceived quality of care were high. These study results show that changes in nurses' emotions and physical and mental health status are not reflected in their performance and the quality of care. However, these results only refer to a cross-sectional period, and if the period is extended, the results may be different. Organizing trainings for nurses on emotional literacy, awareness, and self-compassion may be useful to reduce physical and emotional stress. Health screening and occupational health and safety measures should be implemented in health institutions to monitor and assess the physical and mental health of nurses, and legal regulations on this issue should be implemented as soon as possible. It is recommended to re-examine nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion after the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with the results of this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e5.1 Relevance to Clinical Practice\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractices in hospitals that focus on nurses' well-being are institutionally supportive, and improving their ability to manage their emotions and create their own personal potential for support can lead to positive organizational outcomes such as quality patient care. In a supportive environment, staff are more likely to maintain a high level of performance. Nurse managers have a great responsibility in this regard.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSEC\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSensitivity to emotional contagion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSD\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandard deviation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eCI\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConfidence interval\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (approval date: 04/09/2020, approval number: 52832). Online informed consent was obtained from the participants, and permission to use the Turkish versions of the scales was granted by the researchers who adapted them. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was not registered as a clinical trial; therefore, a clinical trial number is not applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eClinical trial number\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo financial support was received in the conduct of this research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eStudy design: FD BSData collection: FDData analyisis: FD, BSStudy supervision: FD, BSManuscript writing: FD, BSCritical revision for important intellectual content: FD, BSCorresponding Author: FD\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank the nurses and patients who participated in the study for their contributions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.The dataset generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMcColl-Kennedy JR, Danaher TS, Gallan AS, Orsingher C, Lervik-Olsen L, Verma R. 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Sydney: UNSW Sydney; 2017.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/3285\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.26190/unsworks/3285\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"emotions, sensitivity to emotional contagion, nurses, nursing outcomes, quality of nursing care","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eNurses are at risk due to emotional demands and the possibility of physical and mental health deterioration. This is because they often have to care for physically or mentally vulnerable patients. This study aimed to examine the effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on nurses’ physical health, mental health (individual outcomes), job performance, and quality of nursing care (organizational outcomes).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA correlational and cross-sectional design was employed. Data were collected between September 2020 and January 2022. The study sample consisted of 357 nurses working in Türkiye and 465 patients hospitalized in units where these nurses provided care. The data pertaining to the nurses were collected by the General Information Questionnaire-Nurse, the Emotional Contagion Scale, the Physical and Mental Health Scale, the Job Performance Scale. The data pertaining to the patients were collected by the General Information Questionnaire-Patient and the Care Behaviors Inventory-24. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and simple regression analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePearson correlation analysis showed a statistically significant, very weak positive correlation between sensitivity to emotional contagion and mental health. There was no significant correlation between the nurses' sensitivity to emotional contagion and the quality of care perceived by the patients, examined as physical health, job performance. Regression analysis showed that sensitivity to emotional contagion had a statistically significant negative effect on nurses' mental health.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data showed sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health among the nurses. Sensitivity to emotional contagion negatively affects nurses’ mental health. Despite the presence of sensitivity to emotional contagion and poor mental health of the nurses, work performance and quality of care perceived by the patient were high. It may show that nurses do not display the negativity they experience in their care behaviors. Nurse managers should develop supportive systems in the workplace to support the continuity of quality care.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The effect of sensitivity to emotional contagion on individual and organizational outcomes in nurses: A cross-sectional and correlational study","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-13 07:38:01","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8757873/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"324138483263943079639508771191847671000","date":"2026-03-19T04:04:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-14T13:23:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"109698210580436742196461515336623295351","date":"2026-03-14T12:16:34+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-06T18:15:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-04T07:45:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-09T18:16:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-04T10:55:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Nursing","date":"2026-02-04T10:22:44+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-nursing","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"nurs","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Nursing](http://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/nurs/default.aspx","title":"BMC Nursing","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4acf18da-fb53-4ad6-a5e6-5a89e79f787a","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-13T07:38:01+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-13 07:38:01","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8757873","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8757873","identity":"rs-8757873","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}