The nursing workforce is aging at an unprecedented rate yet little is known about
the health and safety of older registered nurses (RNs). The survey reported here examined
the relationships between demographic variables, job attributes (job satisfaction,
control over practice, and job demands) and the physical and mental health and job-related
injuries and health disorders of 308 nurses over the age of 50. Findings indicate
that nurses with higher job satisfaction, higher control over practice, and lower
job demands experienced increased physical health. Increasing age was positively correlated
with mental health. Almost a quarter of older RNs experienced a job-related injury
within the past 5 years, and over a third experienced job-related health problems.
Nurses with higher job demands and those employed in hospital settings were more likely
to have an injury. Overall, older RNs reported higher levels of physical and mental
health than the national norm. Efforts must be made to keep older RNs healthy so we
can retain them in the workforce.
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Biography
Susan Letvak is a at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC.
Article info
Footnotes
This study was funded by a grant from the American Nurses Foundation/ANA Presidential Scholarship.
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
