The Interaction of Ergonomic Risk Factors with Nurses' Psychological Resilience and Caring Behaviors: A Cross-sectional Study

Aims This study investigated how exposure to ergonomic risk factors affects the interaction between psychological resilience and caring behaviors among nurses. Design: This study was conducted with a cross-sectional and descriptive design. Method This study was conducted with 367 nurses working in Adıyaman Training and Research Hospital between April and June 2025. Data were collected face-to-face via the Personal and Occupational Information Form, Questionnaire for Assessing Ergonomic Risks of Nursing Service Providers, Brief Psychological Resilience Scale and Caring Behaviors Inventory-24. Descriptive statistics, t tests, ANOVAs, Pearson correlation analyses and linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results Nurses were exposed to high levels of ergonomic risk, had moderate levels of psychological resilience and high levels of caring behavior. According to regression analysis, ergonomic risk significantly and negatively affects psychological resilience and general caring behaviors. Ergonomic risk also had significant and negative effects on all the subscales of caring behavior; in particular, the effect was stronger for the “respectful” subscale. On the other hand, psychological resilience had a significant positive effect on general caring behaviors and three subscales. However, there was no significant effect on the “commitment” subscale. Conclusion Ergonomic risk negatively affects nurses' psychological resilience and care behaviors, whereas psychological resilience positively affects caring behavior. These findings suggest that improving nurses' ergonomic conditions and supporting their psychological resilience can improve the quality of care. Health managers should develop strategies to reduce nurses' ergonomic exposure and strengthen their psychological resilience. Impact: Controlling and improving ergonomic risk factors in nurses' work environments will have positive effects on psychological resilience and caring behaviors. Reporting Method : STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies. Public Contribution: This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.