Abstract: Objective: To analyze the classification of mental workload of nurses in Shanghai, and to identify the difference in demographic variables for each latent category. Methods: A total of 1025 nurses from 7 general hospitals in Shanghai were investigated with a self-developed questionnaire about demographic information and nurse-version NASA Task Load Index. Latent profile class analysis and difference test of demographic variables among categories were conducted. Results: Nurses' mental workload was divided into "low workload perception—high self-evaluation group" (31.1%), "moderate workload perception—moderate self-evaluation group" (27.7%), "high workload perception—high self-evaluation group" (24.4%) and "high workload perception—low self-evaluation group" (16.8%). Different distributions of age, working years, having children or not, living condition, working department, professional title, working overtime and annual income existed among four mental workload groups, and there was no statistical difference in marital status, education level and hospital grade. Conclusion: Nurses' mental workload in Shanghai can be classified into four categories. The characteristics of some demographic variables were different for those with different mental workload categories. To reduce nurses' mental workload, the different demographic characteristics of nurses should be considered in the implementation of intervention.

Key words: nurse; mental workload; latent profile analysis