An investigation of emotional labor strategies on the basis of empathy among nurses working at intensive care and inpatient units

WOS: 000331837900008Objective: Intensive care nurses produce emotional labor through deep acting by generating empathetic emotional and cognitive reactions during their interactions with patients. On the other hand they produce emotional labor through surface acting whereby they forge empathic behaviors towards patients in the absence of appropriate emotional and cognitive actions. The present study explored emotional labor strategies on the basis of empathy among nurses working at intensive care and in-patient units. Methods: The present study was carried out in a state hospital in Istanbul. The sample of the study consisted of 116 nurses. Emotional Labor Scale, the Empathy Scale and a demographic questionnaire were used to gather data. Results: The hypotheses that as compared with in-patient care nurses, the empathy levels of intensive care nurses would be higher; nurses who have high levels of empathy would show higher levels of deep acting and emotional effort than nurses who have medium or low levels of empathy; nurses who have high levels of empathy would show lower levels of surface acting than nurses who have medium or low levels of empathy; and as compared with in-patient care nurses, intensive care nurses would show higher levels of deep acting and emotional effort and lower levels of surface acting, were not supported by the data. Conclusion: The results have shown that intensive-care nurses do not have higher levels of empathy, and they do not use deep acting and emotional effort more than inpatient clinic nurses. These findings indicate that regardless of the characteristics of the working environment, the nurses show empathy and use emotional labor strategies. More research is needed to understand these findings

Gastric intramucosal pH is stable during titration of positive end-expiratory pressure to improve oxygenation in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Background Optimal positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is an important component of adequate mechanical ventilation in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In the present study we tested the effect on gastric intramucosal pH of incremental increases in PEEP level (i.e. PEEP titration) to improve oxygenation in ARDS. Seventeen consecutive patients with ARDS, as defined by consensus criteria, were included in this clinical, prospective study. All patients were haemodynamically stable and were not receiving vasopressors. From an initial level of 5 cmH(2)O, PEEP was titrated at 2cmH(2)O increments until the partial arterial oxygen tension was 300 mmHg or greater, peak airway pressure was 45 cmH(2)O or greater, or mean arterial blood pressure decreased by 20% or more of the baseline value. Optimal PEEP was defined as the level of PEEP that achieved the best oxygenation. The maximum PEEP was the highest PEEP level reached during titration in each patient

Developing an index of deprivation which integrates objective and subjective dimensions: Extending the work of Townsend, Mack and Lansley, and Hallerod

This article presents a new approach to index development, extending the methods used by Townsend, Mack and Lansley and Hallerod to measure deprivation in the developed world. The index combines three 'objective' dimensions of deprivation (i.e. monetary, consumption and work-related), and weighs them according to subjective perceptions regarding which items are more critical to deprivation. A particular application of factor analysis to determining deprivation measures and their corresponding weights leads to a more sophisticated and theoretically robust index than those used previously. The index draws on data from interviews with both partners of 17 households randomly sampled from a Turkish squatter settlement. The article contends that the methodological and substantive advantages of this approach are relevant to both developing and developed contexts

Marriage migration: just another case of positive assortative matching?

It is a stylized fact that marriage formation involves positive assortative matching on education. We also find this in the case of immigrants, even when they tend to “import” their spouses and potentially trade off education for other favorable characteristics. For Pakistanis, we find positive compensating differentials in terms of high education to youth having adopted host country norms, when marrying a marriage migrant. This indicates that Pakistani marriage migrants pay a premium to be able to marry and live in Denmark. For Turks, individuals having source country norms pay a premium in order to import a partner, indicating that unspoiled traditional norms are traded off for education. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006Assortative matching, Homogamy, Exchange theory, Compensating differentials, Marriage migration, J12, J15,