The Effect of Elderly Patients’ Health Information Literacy, Ageism, and Communication Skills on Clinical Nurses’ Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study found that ageism and poor communication skills are linked to nurse burnout when caring for elderly patients, suggesting training to reduce these issues could help.

Contribution

The study identifies ageism and communication skills as key predictors of nurse burnout in geriatric care.

Findings

Ageism showed a strong positive correlation with nurse burnout.

Communication skills were negatively correlated with burnout.

Ageism was the strongest predictor of burnout, followed by communication skills.

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to examine correlation between nurses’ assessments of health literacy in older adults, communication skills, and ageism, as well as whether these factors could be key predictors of nurse burnout. Methods: To determine which factors predict burnout among clinical nurses, a structured questionnaire was distributed to 269 clinical nurses. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Elderly patients’ health literacy assessed by nurses showed significant correlations with communication skills, ageism, and burnout. Communication skills were negatively correlated with ageism and burnout, whereas ageism showed a strong positive correlation with burnout. Multiple regression analysis revealed that ageism (β = 0.287), communication skills (β = −0.251), female gender (β = 0.139), and aging anxiety (β = −0.181)were significant predictors of burnout, collectively explaining 29.3% of the variance in burnout. Conclusions: Ageism was the strongest predictor of burnout among clinical nurses, followed by communication skills. Strategies reducing ageism and enhancing communication competencies are essential for mitigating burnout in geriatric nursing practice. These findings highlight the need for systematic educational interventions related to the elderly tailored for both nursing students and clinical nurses.