psychosocial aspect of quality of life among working and unemployed nurses and midwives

Objective The objective of the study was to explain differences in the subjective evaluation of the psychological and social aspects of quality of life in a group of working and unemployed nurses and midwives. Material and Methods The survey was conducted in a group of 620 professionally-active and inactive people (315 nurses and 305 midwives), selected by random stratified-systematic sampling. The tool used to gather empirical material was the standardized questionnaire WHOQoL-100. Results Professionally-active nurses evaluated the mental domain less favourably (M=12.33), compared with unemployed nurses (M=12.73), and the difference between average values was statistically significant (p=.043). It is also worth noting that in the group of midwives there were significant differences in each discussed domain. The unemployed respondents evaluated more positively the overall quality of life (M=14.29; p=.005) and the mental domain (M=12.85; p=.009), while the social domain was evaluated less favourably by the professionally-active midwives (M=12.73; p=.022). Conclusions Paradoxically, those who were unemployed made slightly more positive evaluations in comparison with the professionally active. Professional work is not a factor preferably affecting the quality of life and its psychosocial dimension. The higher quality of life of the unemployed respondents may result from the buffering impact of social support.