Social Determinants of Health

Implications for mental health, moral injury and burnout among Tennessee Nurse Educators in Higher Education

The Tennessee Nurses Foundation (TNF) provides grants to registered nurses engaging in scientific and other research projects focusing on nursing practice. TNF promotes the continued growth and development of nurses and services to advance the work of the nursing profession. The Research Grants Program has been founded to encourage the research career development of nurses and the grants support scientific research for advancing the practice of nursing, promoting health and preventing disease (https://tna.wildapricot.org/Grants-&-Scholarships).

This funded research study, “Social Determinants of Health - Work Environment: Implications for Mental Health, Moral Injury, & Burnout Among TN Nurse Educators in Higher Education,” is a descriptive cross-sectional design, which seeks to explore the impact of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) – workplace environment upon the mental health, moral injury, and burnout of nurse educators in higher education settings in TN and the degree to which they exist. Measures utilized include the Patient Health Questionnaire 9, the Moral Injury Symptom Scale-HP, and the Copenhagen Burnout Scale surveys along with a Participant demographics assessment scale. These instruments are expected to estimate the prevalence of these phenomena among Faculty at accredited Nursing programs that confer degrees at the Baccalaureate degree level and above within Tennessee (TN).

The anticipated Impact from this research will provide insight into the prevalence of social determinants of health – workplace and its influence upon depression, moral injury, and burnout among nurse educators in higher education in Tennessee. Furthermore, data are anticipated to elucidate which specific characteristics and symptoms are correlated with its incidence to illuminate potential risk factors for Nursing Faculty. Moreover, the hope is to gain greater insight into the wellness of nursing faculty, and to understand how workplace influences mental health, burnout, and moral injury among Nurse Educators. Ultimately, these data are forecasted to inform development of significant preventative interventions such as detailed wellness and self-care programs to address consequences of these phenomena and to increase Nurse Faculty retention, which may benefit Nursing Student enrollment throughout Tennessee.

The PI for this research is Dr. Gloria Carr, associate professor in the Loewenberg College of Nursing, and division director of the Acute Chronic & Continuing Care Science. For more information related to this study, contact Carr at gcarr@memphis.edu.