Work stress, coping and expectations of nurses

Abstract

This is a preliminary explorative study to identify stressors, coping and expectations of nurses. The study provided a qualitative description of stress, coping and expectations of nurses working in tertiary and referral hospital in state of Goa, India. The work environments of nurses are changing considerably over the period of time, which has resulted in emergence of new stressors at the workplace. Even though nursing is known to be stressful profession, there is need to identify emerging stressors and the way nurses cope up with these stressors. The outcome of stress factor will basically depend on the coping ability of a nurse. This study determined what situations contribute to nurses' stress, what are the coping strategies used and what expectations nurses are having from concerned higher authorities. A Convenience sample of 51 nurses working in hospitals participated in the study. Participants completed an open ended questionnaire consisting of seven questions. Content analysis was done and themes were identified. Majority of nurses reported that their work is stressful. The factors that contribute to stress at workplace were classified in six categories for instance issues were related to staffing & workload, supplies/ equipments, problems among nurses themselves, doctors and co-workers, patients and their families and administrative issues. Sixty two percent of respondents reported "staff shortage" as a main stressor. Apart from stressors different situations contributing to stress were identified. Forty six percent of respondents reported that mutual understanding among nurses and others health team helps in reducing stress. The coping strategies used were problem avoidance (22%), Mental Disengagement (16%), Problem solving/planning (12%), religious coping (12%) and social support (10%). Majority of the respondents felt that concerned authorities are not doing anything regarding stressors at workplace. Nurses had plenty of expectations from concerned authorities, they felt need to have regular staff meetings and in-service training programs for nurses.