Latent profile analysis of mindful self-care and its relationship with professional grief among intensive care unit nurses

Introduction: Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses are particularly at a high risk of professional grief. Mindful self-care practices were confirmed to improve nurses' mental health status. However, the current studies focusing on mindful self-care among ICU nurses are limited, and the relationship between mindful self-care and professional grief has not been confirmed. This study aims to examine the characteristics and influencing factors of different mindful self-care latent profiles among ICU nurses and investigate the relationship between mindful self-care and professional grief.

Methods: The survey was conducted on 355 ICU nurses from nine hospitals in Shandong Province using the General Demographic Questionnaire, Mindful Self-Care Scale, Grief State Scale Nurses, and Short Form of the Self-Compassion Scale. Latent profile analysis was used to determine the profiles of mindful self-care among ICU nurses. Binary logistic regression was employed to explore the influencing factors of different profiles. A t -test was used to compare professional grief differences among distinct mindful self-care profiles.

Results: Mindful self-care among ICU nurses was categorized into the “mindful self-care deficiency profile” (32.5%) and “high mindfulness care profile” (67.5%). Factors influencing mindful self-care profiles included health status, and self-compassion ability ( p < 0.05). High mindfulness care profile nurses exhibited lower levels of professional grief ( p < 0.001).

Conclusions: This study classified ICU nurses' mindful self-care into two latent profiles. ICU nurses with good health status and high self-compassion were more likely to belong to the high-mindfulness-care profile, whose members reported lower professional grief. These findings provide evidence for interventions targeting mindful self-care and professional grief among ICU nurses.