Nurses’ Reactions to SARS: A Cross National Comparison between China

and Canada

Esther Greenglass*, Sue Coffey*, Kan Shi#, Lisa Fiksenbaum* & XueFeng Chen#

*York University, Toronto, Canada# Chinese Academy of Sciences,

Beijing ,China

Paper presented at ICP, Bejing, ChinaAugust 8-13, 2004

The Samples

• Most were women • Most were registered nurses• Canada n= 379• China n=173• Canadian nurses (43 years old) were

significantly older than Chinese nurses (28 years old)

HAVE YOU EVERY BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH SUSPECTED OR PROBABLE SARS?

   CANADA CHINA

YES 8 37

NO 371 127

TOTAL 379 164    

(2(1)= 62.98, p<.001

DID YOU OR DO YOU WORK WITH SARS PATIENTS?

   CANADA CHINA

YES 78 130

NO 255 29

TOTAL 333 159

2(1) =150.08, p<.001

SARS Threat

• Degree to which respondents worried that they would get SARS

• Sum of four items

• 4 point scale with 4 a great deal

• Sample item: I felt nervous about getting SARS

SARS Threat Canada vs. China

t= -3.01, df=550, p<.01

Canada

China

9.97

10.73

Comparative Risk of Getting SARS

• Perceived risk of getting SARS compared to the risk of getting gastroenteritis, HIV/AIDS, and the flu

• Mean of three items• 7-point scale with 7 very high• Sample item: Compared to my risk of

getting the flu through exposure at work, my risk of getting SARS is…

Comparative Risk of Getting SARS Canada vs. China

t= -5.87, df=550, p<.001

Canada

China

4.31

5.19

Organizational Support

• Degree to which respondents agreed that the hospital supported nurses and their concerns regarding SARS

• Sum of five items

• 5 point scale with 1 strongly agree

• Sample item: The hospital listened to nurses’concerns regarding SARS

Organizational Support Canada vs. China

t= 16.53, df=548, p<.001

Canada

China

14.46

7.39

*Lower values indicate higher levels of organizational support

Preventive Coping

• Extent to which nurses engaged in behavior to prevent getting SARS themselves

• Sum of five items

• 4 point scale with 4 completely true

• Sample item: I did what I could so that I would not get SARS

Preventive CopingCanada vs. China

t= 11.98, df=547, p<.001

Canada

China

16.41

14.35

Vigor

• Extent to which nurses indicated high levels of energy and a willingness to invest effort in work

• Mean of six items

• 6 point scale with 6 always/everyday

• Sample item: At my work, I feel bursting with energy

Professional Efficacy

• Satisfaction with past and present accomplishments and an individual's expectations of continued effectiveness at work

• Mean of 6 items

• 6 point scale with 6 every day

• Sample Item: In my opinion, I am good at my job

-24-23

-20

-20

-27

-14

Correlations between Organizational Support*, Preventive, Coping,Vigor and Professional Efficacy- Canada & China

*Lower values indicate higher levels of organizational support

Preventive Coping

Vigor

Professional efficacy

CanadaChina

-15

Summary• A cross-national comparison of nurses’ reactions

to SARS permits generalizability of findings• Measuring instruments can be validated across

samples• Results have implications for the study of stress,

coping and social support in health care workers dealing with a public health threat

• Organizational support is a significant resource associated with positive reactions to work and individual coping