A Study on the Correlation between Professional Self -Concept, Social Support and Presenteeism among Nurses

Danqin Li^1,2*Xiaowei Liu^1,3Shaojuan Huang^1,4Yiyun Zeng^1,2Jinshen Lu^1,2

• ¹Eighth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
• ²Department of General Medication, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
• ³Department of Orthopedics, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China
• ⁴Department of Nursing, Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Foshan, China

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between nurses’ professional self-concept, social support, and presenteeism, providing insights for optimizing nursing human resource management. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the professional self-concept scale, social support rating scale, and presenteeism scale among 520 nurses from tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province, China. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchical multiple linear regression were employed for data analysis. Results: A total of 503 valid questionnaires were collected, yielding an effective response rate of 96.73%. There was a significant negative correlation between professional self-concept and presenteeism (r = -0.339, 95%CI (-0.414, -0.259), P < 0.05). There was also a significant negative correlation between social support and presenteeism (r = -0.292, 95%CI (-0.370, -0.209), P < 0.05). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that in Model 1, surgery, operating room, and work intensity evaluation of "relatively high" and "moderate" had obvious predictive effects on presenteeism (P < 0.05). In Model 2, surgery, work intensity evaluation of “relatively high” and “moderate”, and professional self-concept had obvious predictive effects on presenteeism (P < 0.01). In Model 3, surgery, operating room, work intensity evaluation of “relatively high” and “moderate”, professional self-concept, and social support had obvious predictive effects on presenteeism (P < 0.05). The R² of Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3 were 6.6%, 16.1%, and 17.4% respectively. The results of the mediation effects test showed that perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between professional self-concept and presenteeism. Conclusion: Enhancing nurses’ professional self-identity and strengthening social support may be predictive of lower levels of presenteeism, potentially contributing to improved nursing team performance and patient safety.