The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Nursing Leadership and Its Impact on Nursing Practice Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Correlational Study in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The core of the competency of nursing leadership is emerging as emotional intelligence (EI), which has implications for staff wellbeing and patient safety outcomes. But there is no quantitative study on the role of Nursing leader EI in Nursing Practice outcomes in District Mardan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan so far. Objective: The objective of this study was to see the relationship between the EI of the nursing leaders and selected outcomes of nursing practice namely Job Satisfaction, Burnout, Medication Errors and Clinical Adherence in the Public and Private Hospitals of District Mardan. Methods: Quantitative, Cross – Sectional, correlational design was used. A total of 235 participants (39 nursing leaders, 196 staff nurses) were recruited from six hospitals and completed the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory – Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), and a researcher-developed clinical outcomes section. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA with post hocTukey's HSD and stepwise multiple linear regression with IBM SPSS Version 26. Results: Overall results indicated that the nursing leaders had an average EI level of 4.35 (SD = 0.85). Significant positive correlations were found between leader EI and staff job satisfaction (r = 0.42, p < 0.01) and clinical adherence (r = 0.35, p < 0.01), and significant negative correlations with burnout (r = −0.38, p < 0.01) and medication errors (r = −0.31, p < 0.01). There were fewer medication errors reported in units with high-EI leaders (50.9%) and higher hand hygiene compliance (p < 0.001). The strongest predictors of clinical adherence were Others' Emotion Appraisal (conceptually equivalent to empathy; β = 0.31) and Regulation of Emotion (conceptually equivalent to self-regulation; β = 0.27) within a three-predictor model that also included Use of Emotion (β = 0.20). The final model explained 38% of the variance in clinical adherence (R² = 0.38). Conclusion: Nursing leader EI is significantly associated with the better staff outcomes and patient safety in district Mardan. In KPK, targeted EI development programmes are recommended, with the primary focus being on empathy and emotional regulation, for nursing leadership.