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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PLOS One

Words on fire: Nurses’ communication attitudes in the burnout equation

  • María del Carmen Giménez-Espert1
  • Lucía Sanchis-Giménez2
  • Vicente Javier Prado-Gascó3
  1. 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Chiropody, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  2. 2Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
  3. 3Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Abstract

Nursing professionals are exposed to stressful situations. One of them could be related to how they communicate with patients and their families. However, literature on the role of communication in occupational stress is scarce. There seems to be no consensus as to whether communication is a job demand, a consequence of stress or could even act as a mediator between the stress process. The aim of this study was to discuss the role of attitudes towards communication with the patient in the stress process in nurses. The sample consisted of 193 nurses recruited from four public hospitals in the Valencian Community. They were previously informed about the aim of the study. Job demands and resources, burnout and attitudes towards communication with the patient were evaluated with the UNIPSICO Battery, Burnout Syndrome Evaluation Questionnaire (CESQT) and the reduced version of the Attitudes Towards Communication Questionnaire (ACO-R), respectively. Three hypothesized models were evaluated with PLS-SEM. The results of the analysis showed that attitudes towards communication did not influence burnout. Nor did they mediate the stress process. Attitudes towards communication were a consequence of burnout caused by the imbalance between job demands and resources. Thus, when nurses suffer from burnout due to exposure to poor working conditions, their attitudes towards communication may deteriorate.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{gimenezespert2026words,
  title = {{Words on fire: Nurses’ communication attitudes in the burnout equation}},
  author = {María del Carmen Giménez-Espert and Lucía Sanchis-Giménez and Vicente Javier Prado-Gascó},
  journal = {PLOS One},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0358785},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358785},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Words on fire: Nurses’ communication attitudes in the burnout equation
AU  - María del Carmen Giménez-Espert
AU  - Lucía Sanchis-Giménez
AU  - Vicente Javier Prado-Gascó
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
JO  - PLOS One
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0358785
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0358785
AB  - Nursing professionals are exposed to stressful situations. One of them could be related to how they communicate with patients and their families. However, literature on the role of communication in occupational stress is scarce. There seems to be no consensus as to whether communication is a job demand, a consequence of stress or could even act as a mediator between the stress process. The aim of this study was to discuss the role of attitudes towards communication with the patient in the stress process in nurses. The sample consisted of 193 nurses recruited from four public hospitals in the Valencian Community. They were previously informed about the aim of the study. Job demands and resources, burnout and attitudes towards communication with the patient were evaluated with the UNIPSICO Battery, Burnout Syndrome Evaluation Questionnaire (CESQT) and the reduced version of the Attitudes Towards Communication Questionnaire (ACO-R), respectively. Three hypothesized models were evaluated with PLS-SEM. The results of the analysis showed that attitudes towards communication did not influence burnout. Nor did they mediate the stress process. Attitudes towards communication were a consequence of burnout caused by the imbalance between job demands and resources. Thus, when nurses suffer from burnout due to exposure to poor working conditions, their attitudes towards communication may deteriorate.
SN  - 1932-6203
ER  -