JOB MOTIVATION, SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND THE MEANING OF NURSES' LIVES DURING CRITICAL INCIDENTS

Job motivation is an essential factor among nurses, influencing their care quality. Motivation directly impacts the performance of hospital employees, including nurses, in achieving organizational goals—self-actualization, which refers to the desire to improve oneself and reach one's full potential. Since self-actualization is one of the components of mental health and the search for meaning is the foundation of mental health, achieving the meaning of life as a mental strength causes positive feelings, satisfaction, and even psychological security. Natural disasters and crises, including earthquakes, are disruptive events that are usually beyond the response capacity of local and regional systems and can affect nurses' motivation to perform their duties. This study aims to determine the relationship between job motivation, self-actualization, and the meaning of life among nurses during critical events in Khoi City in 1401.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in medical education centers and hospitals affiliated with Khoy University of Medical Sciences. It included 404 nurses who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a demographic information form, Ludahl, and Kitchener's standard job motivation questionnaire, Ahvaz's self-actualization questionnaire, and Steger's meaning of life questionnaire. The correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data using SPSS software version 23.

The results showed 61.6% of nurses had high job motivation, and 86.1% had strong self-actualization. The mean scores for the presence of meaning dimension and the search for meaning dimension were 28.476 ± 7.549 and 28.756 ± 7.598, respectively. 79% of nurses reported a sense of meaning in life, while 81.9% reported actively searching for meaning. According to the correlation test results, there is a direct and significant relationship between job motivation, self-actualization, and the meaning of life.

Considering the high job motivation, self-actualization, and the presence of meaning in the nurses' lives, managers can keep these values high and enhance the quality of nursing care by providing a supportive work environment and creating an atmosphere to promote these values further.