The mediating role of work engagement between perceived organizational support and work competency among Chinese infection control practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Infection control practitioners (ICPs) play a fundamental role in preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections. ICPs' work competency is associated with work engagement and perceived organizational support (POS); however, the intercorrelations and mechanisms among Chinese ICPs remain unknown. Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aimed to test the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between POS and work competency. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 ICPs from 87 hospitals in Sichuan Province, China, from June to September 2023. Data were collected via an online questionnaire that included basic characteristics, the perceived organizational support scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and the Infection Control Competency Questionnaire for ICPs. Bootstrap methods, utilizing Hayes's PROCESS Macro, were employed to test the mediation effect of work engagement on the relationship between POS and work competency. RESULTS: The mean work competency, POS, and work engagement scores were 66.03 ± 11.11, 42.94 ± 8.09, and 73.89 ± 11.63, respectively. The mediation model demonstrated a robust association between POS and work competency, which was partially mediated by work engagement (total effect c = 0.739, 95% CI = 0.621-0.857; direct effect c' = 0.475, 95% CI = 0.334-0.616; indirect effect ab = 0.264, 95% CI = 0.170-0.374). CONCLUSION: This study offers new insights into the relationship between POS and work competency, highlighting the mediating role of work engagement. Our findings suggest that enhancing ICPs' POS and work engagement may be effective in improving their work competency, thereby enhancing patient safety and health outcomes.