Relationship between perceived time pressure during visits and burnout among home visiting nurses in Japan

Aim: The rapidly rising number of older people has inevitably caused an increasing demand for home visiting nurses. Nursing managers must develop a healthy workplace to recruit and retain a workforce of nurses. This study focused on home visiting nurses' perceptions of time pressure as a changeable work demand. The aim was to investigate perceptions of time pressure and reveal the relationship between perceived time pressure and burnout among home visiting nurses. Methods: From 32 agencies in three districts, 28 home visiting nurses agreed to participate in this study. Two hundred and eight home visiting nurses received an anonymous self-administered questionnaire by mail, and 177 (85.1%) filled out and returned the questionnaire to the researchers. The Job Demands-Resources model for burnout, which explains the relationship between a work environment and employee well-being, was used as a conceptual guide. Three survey instruments were employed: questions on sociodemographic variables and worksite environments, including time pressure; the Japanese burnout inventory; and a Japanese version of the job content questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between time pressure and burnout inventory scores. Results: About 30% of home visiting nurses perceived time pressure frequently. When home visiting nurses perceived time pressure more frequently, they experienced higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Conclusion: Time pressure was often perceived as another job demand and had a significant relationship with burnout. This indicates the importance of lessening time pressure to develop healthy work places for community health nurses.