Latent profile analysis and  burnout study of Work addiction among clinical nurses

Background: Work addiction in clinical nurses is associated with burnout.However, the classification of work addiction in this group remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the subtypes of work addiction in Chinese clinical nurses, explore the factors influencing the subtypes, and explore the relationship between job burnout and work addiction to provide a reference for improving the work addiction of nurses. Methods: From July to October 2023, 524 clinical nurses from five tertiary general hospitals in Shaanxi Province were selected for a cross-sectional survey. They filled out questionnaires online through the questionnaire star, which included the General Information Questionnaire, the Burnout Scale, and the Work Addiction Scale. Data analysis included latent feature analysis, analysis of variance, chi-square test, binary logistic regression,and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: Two potential traits were identified - low-grade work addiction(grade 1) and high work addiction (grade 3), representing 67.9% and 32.1%of the total number of nurses surveyed, respectively. Nurses' job titles and emotional exhaustion had an impact on the potential categories of work addiction in clinical nurses (P<0.05). Burnout is a significant predictor of work addiction and can independently explain the 18.70%difference in work addiction in clinical nurses. Conclusion: There are different classification characteristics of work addiction in clinical nurses in China. More than half of clinical nurses have low levels of burnout, and work addiction is an essential predictor of nurses' burnout. Hospital administrators should actively focus on nurses with high work addiction to help them reduce burnout.