Determining the Relationship between Stress Management and the Level of Perceived Job Stress and the Quality of Services Provided by Midwives Working in the Maternity Department of Hospitals in Hamedan Province in 2022

Abstract

Background and Objective: One of the important problems of midwifery is high job stress and its consequences. Having the ability to manage stress is one of the basic requirements of this profession that can reduce midwifery mistakes in the workplace. Although job stress exists in all jobs, midwives face higher levels of stress due to the nature of their job, and this issue can lead to a decrease in service quality. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship of stress management with the level of perceived job stress and the quality of services provided by midwives working in the maternity department of hospitals in Hamedan province, Iran. Materials and Methods: The statistical population of this descriptive cross-sectional study consisted of 210 midwives working in hospitals with obstetrics and gynecology departments in Hamedan province. The random sampling method was used to select the samples. The required data for this study were collected using a demographic information form, Cobin's Stress Management Questionnaire, Hospital Stress Scale, and Maternity Care Quality in Maternity Unit Scale. Data were analyzed in Stata-13 software using Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests and multivariate linear regression. The significance level was considered less than 0.05. Results: The findings showed that 81.4% of midwives had a high level of stress management ability. Moreover, 65.7% of midwives perceived moderate-level job stress, and 79% of midwives provided good quality services in the delivery room. Based on the results, was a moderate and inverse relationship between stress management and perceived job stress (beta=-0.47), and a moderate and direct relationship between stress management and the quality of provided services (beta=0.56). It was also found that perceived job stress had a weak and inverse relationship with the quality of provided services (beta=-0.25). Conclusion: The results revealed that having the ability to manage stress and control job stress could improve the quality of services provided by midwives. It is necessary for midwife managers to improve the process of providing quality services by holding stress management workshops.