Working Conditions Among Chinese Nurses Employed in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study

INTRODUCTION: Although the number of Chinese nurses employed in Japan is increasing, the situation regarding their work conditions has not been clarified. It is necessary to understand such conditions to consider support for Chinese nurses in Japan. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the professional nursing practice environment, occupational career, and work engagement of Chinese nurses in Japan. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, 640 paper questionnaires were mailed to 58 Japanese hospitals that employed Chinese nurses and included a QR code for online responses. A survey request form and URL were sent to the Wechat app, where Chinese nurses in Japan communicate. The contents include attribute-related questions, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI), Occupational Career Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Either Wilcoxon's rank-sum or the Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to compare scores of the study variables between subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 199 valid responses were obtained, of which 92.5% were female, and 69.3% had a university degree or higher. The PES-NWI score was 2.74, and the work engagement score was 3.10. The group with a university degree or higher had significantly lower scores on PES-NWI and work engagement than those with diplomas. Regarding the subscale of occupational career, scores of forming and coordinating interpersonal relationships, self-development, and accumulating a variety of experience were 3.80, 2.58, and 2.71, respectively. The scores were significantly higher with more than 6 years of nursing experience in Japan than those with 0–3 years or 3–6 years. CONCLUSION: Most participants had university degrees or higher, and their scores of PES-NWI and work engagement tended to be lower than those with diploma degrees. Participants showed low self-ratings in self-development and lacked a variety of experience. Understanding Chinese nurses’ work conditions in Japan enables hospital administrators to develop measures for continuing education and support.