The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Nurses' Professional Quality of Life in Pre‐Hospital Emergency Settings: A Multicentre Mixed‐Method Study

Musio, Maria Emma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0991-3135, Ginogi, Francesca ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9353-6815, Casini, Simone, Lucente, Graziana, Timmins, Fiona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7233-9412, Hayter, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2537-8355, Catania, Gianluca ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0862-071X, Zanini, Milko ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1081-6279, Aleo, Giuseppe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1306-3364, Sasso, Loredana ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5886-5937 and Bagnasco, Annamaria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9079-8460 (2024) The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Nurses' Professional Quality of Life in Pre‐Hospital Emergency Settings: A Multicentre Mixed‐Method Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing. ISSN 0962-1067

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Abstract

Background: Pre‐hospital emergency nurses, frequently exposed to high‐stress situations, are at risk for burnout and stress‐related issues, affecting their overall well‐being. The Professional Quality of Life (ProQoL) scale, widely used among hospital nurses, remains untested in pre‐hospital emergency settings. Aim: To adapt and validate the ProQoL scale for pre‐hospital emergency contexts and explore the protective role of emotional intelligence in professional well‐being. Methods: A mixed‐method study was conducted. The qualitative approach involved semi‐structured interviews to inform the modification of items for adapting the ProQoL to the pre‐hospital emergency setting. A quantitative method was applied to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence and professional well‐being through content and face validity measures. Results: Qualitative interviews suggested refining the ProQoL for pre‐hospital emergency settings, emphasising factors such as job satisfaction and professional conduct. The revised 21‐item Pre‐Hospital Emergency‐Professional Quality of Life (PHE‐ProQoL) scale demonstrated strong content validity (I‐CVI: 0.86‐1, S‐CVI: 0.9) and face validity. Significant correlations were observed between emotional intelligence and professional well‐being, with negative correlations between emotional intelligence and both burnout (Pearson's r = −0.859) and post‐traumatic stress (Pearson's r = −0.792), and a positive correlation with compassion satisfaction (Pearson's r = +0.917). Pre‐hospital nurses displayed moderate levels of compassion satisfaction (27.3 ± 9.81), high emotional intelligence (28.0 ± 9.58), especially in empathy, and substantial levels of burnout (22.5 ± 6.09) and stress (21.2 ± 4.3). Discussion: The study found that pre‐hospital emergency nurses exhibit moderate compassion satisfaction and above‐average emotional intelligence, particularly in perceiving and managing others' emotions. However, they also experience significant levels of burnout and post‐traumatic stress. Conclusions: Burnout and post‐traumatic stress significantly affect pre‐hospital emergency nurses. Enhancing emotional intelligence is crucial for their well‐being. Nursing managers now have access to a validated and reliable tool to assess this.