The relationship between work-family conflict and occupational stress in emergency department nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study.

Background: Emergency department (ED) nurses work in high-stress environments and face multiple role pressures simultaneously, making occupational stress and work-family conflict increasingly prominent occupational health concerns in this population. However, the prevalence and correlates of these two constructs have not been systematically examined in the Chinese ED nursing context. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the current status of occupational stress and work-family conflict among emergency department nurses, and to examine the association between the two constructs and identify potential influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional design was adopted. From December 26, 2023, to January 18, 2024, a total of 1,540 emergency department (ED) nurses from 30 tertiary hospitals across 20 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China were recruited using a stratified cluster sampling method. Occupational stress and work-family conflict were assessed using a self-designed general information questionnaire, the occupational stress questionnaire, and the Work-Family Behavioral Role Conflict Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0, employing descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression to examine the associations between occupational stress and work-family conflict. Results: A total of 1,540 valid questionnaires were included in the final analysis. The majority of participants were female, aged 30-39 years, held a bachelor's degree, were married with children, and had a junior professional title. The mean total occupational stress score was 55.55 ± 16.78, with dimension scores of 19.22 ± 5.35 for effort, 23.72 ± 9.10 for reward, and 12.60 ± 4.74 for overcommitment. The mean total work-family conflict score was 42.48 ± 16.21, with subscale scores of 18.27 ± 6.88 for work-to-family conflict and 24.21 ± 10.75 for family-to-work conflict. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that the total work-family conflict score and both of its dimensions were positively correlated with the total occupational stress score and all three dimensions, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.462 to 0.664 (all Conclusions: Work-family conflict is significantly associated with elevated occupational stress among emergency department nurses. Nurses with higher education levels, senior professional titles, longer working hours, and higher monthly night shift frequency tend to report higher levels of occupational stress. These findings suggest that nursing managers may consider controlling working hours, monitoring night shift frequency (>8 shifts per month) and fostering a family-supportive organizational culture as potential strategies to alleviate occupational stress in this population. However, given the cross-sectional design of this study, these associations should not be interpreted as causal, and the proposed strategies should be validated through future longitudinal research.