STRESS

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG NURSES

Abstract

Background: Occupational stress has now become a very common issue in the health care organizations. Numerous research based articles have clarified that occupational stress affects the performance and working within clinical settings. There is a lack of authenticated data regarding the occupational stress among the nursing professionals in Mauritius.

Purpose: The purpose of the project is to measure the level of stress among the nursing professionals working in Dr. A. G. Jeetoo Hospital.

Methods: This project used cross sectional survey with the help of questionnaires based upon Likert approach and open ended approach. The sample of the study was selected from Dr. A. G. Jeetoo Hospital.

Results: A significant number of participants reported that they are working in a stressful environment within clinical settings.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the nursing professionals usually face occupational stress while working in clinical settings. Occupational stress is also associated with the poor performance regarding the delivery of health care.

Keywords: Burnout, Nurses, Occupational Pressure, Stress.

Introduction4

Problem Statement4

Purpose of the Study6

Aims and Objectives6

Research Questions6

Definitions of Key Words6

Research Methodology6

Setting and Scope6

Paradigm for the Study7

Measurement Intricacy7

Development of Questionnaire7

Piloting7

Sampling8

Ethical Considerations8

Findings of the Study8

Response Rate8

Demographic Characteristics of Participants9

Physical Symptoms of Stress10

Behavioral Symptoms of Stress11

Physical Work Environment12

Management of the Department13

Patient Care14

Technical Aspects of Nursing14

Personal and Other Factors14

Synopsis of the Findings14

Discussion of Research Results15

Conclusion16

Recommendations16

Limitations16

OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG NURSES

Introduction

Nursing professionals are considered as the backbone of the health and social care organizations. It is the responsibility of nursing professionals to deliver the best possible health care to the patients (Ahsan, Abdullah, Fie & Alam, 2009: 121-131). For this purpose, it is very important for the professionals to work in a safe and healthy environment for effective outcomes (Amati, et al, 2010: 31-38). It is also a fact that workplaces should be kept safe and stress free for the employees to work properly.

The organizations and its structures are continuously changing according to the technology and innovative hierarchies (Arandelovic & Ilic, 2006: 139-144). Similarly, health care organizations are also getting modified with the help of technologies, theories, hierarchies, and novel ideas (Aycock & Boyle, 2009: 183-191). However, this rapid change within organization is also associated with certain problems and troubles (Chen, Hwu, Kung, Chiu, & Wang, 2008: 288). Various organizational theories have shown that continuous, excessive, or sudden change in the organization will certainly increase the stress and anxiety level of the employees (Chung, Yao & Wan, 2005: 149-156).

Stress is a very common neurological issue that is strongly associated with confusion, impaired thinking abilities, increased anxiety level, and increased mental pressure (Urbanetto, et al, 2011: 1122-31). A research based study was conducted by Wirtz, et al, (2006), which described that increased stress level has now become a serious threat for the population. Stress within workplace is a very common concern that has been raised by several professional and scientific organizations (Wirtz, et al, 2006: 3857-3865). International Labor Office has also shown that increased stress at workplace can result in the increased morbidity rates globally.

Marine, Ruotsalainen, Serra, & Verbeek (2006) conducted a study “Preventing occupational stress in ...