Decent work perception and burnout in pediatric nurses: the mediating effect of basic psychological needs based on self-determination theory.

BACKGROUND: Grounded in self-determination theory, basic psychological needs are intrinsic factors that regulate employees' occupational mental health. Pediatric nurses face heavy work pressure and high levels of emotional labor, leading to prevalent occupational burnout. This study aimed to explore the association between decent work perception and burnout among pediatric nurses and examine the mediating role of basic psychological needs. METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional survey recruited 355 pediatric nurses from five tertiary hospitals across Sichuan Province. Validated self-report instruments including the Decent Work Perception Scale, Basic Psychological Need Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey were used to collect research data. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to test the correlations among core variables. On this basis, structural equation modeling was adopted to verify the hypothesized mediating effect paths. RESULTS: Pearson correlation analysis showed that pediatric nurses' decent work perception was positively correlated with basic psychological needs (r = 0.69, p < 0.001). In contrast, decent work perception was negatively associated with occupational burnout (r = -0.56, p < 0.001), and basic psychological needs also demonstrated a significant negative correlation with burnout (r = -0.65, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis confirmed that basic psychological needs partially mediated the relationship between decent work perception and occupational burnout. The mediating effect value was -0.36 (95% CI: -0.47 to -0.24), accounting for 70.01% of the total effect of decent work perception on burnout. CONCLUSION: Perceived decent work was negatively associated with occupational burnout among pediatric nurses, and this relationship was partially mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction. Improving workplace decency and meeting nurses' psychological demands may help relieve burnout and stabilize the pediatric nursing workforce.