A study of the Severity of some Occupational Stresses in Nurses

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Occupational stress is one of the most important occupational hazards in modern life which could lead
to decrease in productivity, work absence, workforce transfer and high costs for the personnel. American National Association
for Occupational Safety has placed nursing at the top of the list of the first forty high-stress jobs. There are
various factors known as stressors in nursing. The current study was carried out to evaluate the severity of some of
them.
METHODS: This is a descriptive, correlative study. 170 nurses in various wards of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
hospitals who met the inclusion criteria took part in the study. The data was gathered using standardized Toft-
Anderson questionnaire and then was analyzed using SPSS soft ware with Spearman correlation test, mean and frequency
distribution.
RESULTS: Findings demonstrate that most of the nurses (73.47%) experienced stress at the medium level. In addition, a
positive statistical correlation was found between the overall and fractional stress scores. Conflicts with physicians have
the greatest relationship with the overall severity of occupational stress in nurses. Among the demographic parameters,
only marital status and work hours had significant statistical correlation with the severity of stress. (p< 0.001)
CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the findings of the study, it is recommended to employ appropriate methods in preventing
and handling occupational stresses at the personal and organizational level.
KEY WORDS: Occupational stress, nurse, stressor