Examining the Role of Nursing-Led Psychological Capital Interventions on Staff Nurses' Occupational Hardiness and Engagement: a Randomized Controlled Trial

This study recruited nurses working 12 hours per shift for 144-180 hours a month at Damietta university hospitals in Damietta Governorate, Egypt. Nurses who were licensed staff nurses, worked in ICU, and had at least 6 months of experience been included in the analysis. In contrast, nurses who were involved in any other intervention program within the last 12 months, working in either wards or any department rather than ICU, or holding an administrative position were excluded. The psychological capital intervention program was developed based on the principles of psychological capital, which include hope, optimism, resilience, and self-efficacy. The intervention aimed to train participants in enhancing their psychological resources. This included fostering hope and optimism, building resilience to cope with challenges, and strengthening self-efficacy to manage job demands. The intervention assists staff nurses in cultivating a positive mindset, boosting their work engagement, and adapting to challenges in the workplace. Ultimately, it sought to enhance their occupational hardiness, foster a greater sense of work passion, and strengthen their career commitment.

Prior to the implementation of the PCI program, interviews were held with potential participants and nursing managers. These interviews explored staff nurses' perceptions of what constitutes good performance, the barriers they face in achieving it, the factors that support them in providing high-quality care, the tasks which they perceive as challenging, and the reasons which make them avoid these challenges. The discussions also focused on factors influencing occupational hardiness and work engagement, including nurses' ability to adapt to new challenges, their work passion, and career commitment. This comprehensive understanding of the work environment was used to design a tailored Psychological Capital Intervention (PCI) program, incorporating customized examples to address these specific challenges, with the goal of enhancing both occupational hardiness and work engagement among staff nurses.

Committee included Five-expert in nursing field as the following one nursing administration professor, one chief of nursing officer (CNO), Deputy of CNO for critical area, Critical area nursing supervisor and one staff nurse with master's degrees were asked for suggestions on the content and structure of the intervention materials. The intervention materials were modified based on their suggestions and sent back to the committee for approval. Then the intervention materials were pilot tested to ensure their quality and clarity.