Relationships between dimensions of fatigue and psychological distress among public hospital nurses

Background: Fatigue and psychological distress are fairly common among nursing personnel,but their relationship is not clearly understood.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the relationships between dimensions of fatigue and psychological distress among 699 public hospital nurses in Iran. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI–20) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ–12)were used for evaluation of fatigue and psychological distress, respectively.Results: The total fatigue score of the MFI–20 was 52.5 (SD = 11.8). The general fatigue (mean± SD = 13.2±3.1) and reduced motivation (mean ± SD = 9.2±2.7) were the fatigue dimensions with the highest and lowest mean scores, respectively. The percentage of psychological distress(e.g., those nurses scored above the cut-off point [GHQ–12 ≥ 4]) was 29.1%. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis indicated that general (P<0.001), physical (P<0.001) and mental(P