Causes of job stress in nurses: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

• Background: Nursing is naturally a stressful job. Stress in nurses can cause depression, isolation from patients, absence and decrease in their qualification. This study aimed to determine the causes of job stress in nurses of Kashan, Iran.
• Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 189 nurses from Kashan hospitals of different wards were studied. The information collection tool was Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised™ (OSI-R™).
• Findings: The most important job stress aspects in female nurses were range of roles (48.4%), role duality (40.9%) and job environment (39.6%). In men, range of roles (57.5%), job environment (50%) and responsibility (45%) were the most significant aspects. In addition, lack of balance between skill and education and job environment requirements in both genders was the least important aspect of job stress.
• Conclusions: The results showed that the level of stress in most of the nurses was in medium level. Job factors were more involved in job stress than demographic and other factors.
•  Key words: Psychological stress, nurses, hospitals