Change Fatigue Among Clinical Nurses and Related Factors: A Cross-sectional Study in Public Hospitals.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the levels of change fatigue among clinical nurses in public hospitals and identify the potential contributing factors.

Design: A cross-sectional, multi-stage sampling study was conducted in accordance with the STROBE guideline.

Methods: This study surveyed 2,228 nurses in China from October to December 2023 using Wen Juan Xing (www.wjx.cn) and employed stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to assess factors associated with change fatigue.

Results: The average change fatigue score of nurses was found to be at a medium to high level. Factors such as female, professional title, average overtime hours, workflow changes, workload increase, work-content changes, work pressure increases, new technology implementation and the change frequency were all identified as exacerbating nurses' experience of fatigue related to change. Contrary to this, the support of change resources, communication and transmission of change information, distributed leadership, inclusive climate, readiness for change, change efficacy and workforce agility were found to alleviate the change fatigue to some extent.

Conclusions: It is urgent and challenging for nursing managers to manage change fatigue. All of these identified predictors in study significantly contribute to the understanding of change fatigue among nurses and can provide valuable insights for health policies aimed at improving the effectiveness of nursing changes. Furthermore, they also offer a theoretical foundation for managers to develop targeted intervention programs for preventing and mitigating the negative impact of change fatigue on nurses and organizational outcomes.