Quality of Work Life among Public Health Nurses: A Survey Comparison between Thailand and Japan

Researchers from Thailand and Japan have initiated a collaborative project to compare the Quality of Work Life (QWL) among public health nurses. Thus, the QWL of registered nurses working in a community in Thailand was identified and compared with the Public Health Nurses (PHNs) in Japan. The purpose of which was to determine the similarities and differences between the two countries regarding their nurses’ quality of work life. The 42-item of Brooks’ survey of Quality of Nursing Work Life (QNWL) was translated and evaluated in Thailand and Japan. There were 102 Thai and 209 Japanese public health nurses completed the questionnaire. Findings showed that the QNWL level of both Thai and Japanese PHNs were at moderate level. Thai nurses scored higher than Japanese nurses in overall scores. Thai reported significantly higher on work design dimensions (t = 9.12, p < 0.05). For both groups, three out of four dimensions were ranked in the same pattern in which home life/work life was recorded as the lowest. This was followed by work design and work context. However, Thai scored lowest on work world dimension, while Japanese scored highest on that dimension. Findings also showed significant association between country and age groups (χ2 = 20.01, p = 0.00, marital status (χ2 = 6.50, p = 0.01), education (χ2 = 70.05, p = 0.00), and dependent family members (χ2 = 128.16, p = 0.00). No significant association was noted between country and gender (χ2 = 0.37, p = 0.54), and between country and work experience (χ2 = 2.88, p = 0.23).The findings extended our understanding of the Public Health Nurse’s quality of work life that contributes to nursing in different cultural contexts through a rare direct comparison of Public Health Nurses between Thailand and Japan.