Prevalence of Work Stress among Nurses in a Major Tertiary Care Hospital, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Introduction: Stress is a harmful physical and emotional response caused by an imbalance between the perceived demands and the perceived resources and in-abilities of individuals to cope up with those demands. Aim: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of stress among nursing officers in a major tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over three months among 427 samples of ward nursing officers at National Hospital Sri Lanka. Sampling was done by two-stage stratification with a simple random sampling method. Nursing Stress Scale (NSS), an internationally validated self-administered questionnaire developed was used to measure the level of stress. Results: In the present study, 26.8% (N=97) had mild stress, 52.1% (N=188) moderate stress, and 21.1% (N=76) had severe stress. The prevalence of moderate and severe stress was 73 %(N=264). The highest mean stress score was found in the death and dying subscale with a mean of 2.2 (SD=0.42) and a median of 2.2 (IQR=1.8-2.6). This was followed by workload sub-scale (Mean 2.1(SD=0.35) and median 2.1, IQR=1.9-2.3). Recommendation: In-ward nursing officers in the major tertiary care Hospital of Sri Lanka had a high prevalence of moderate work-related stress. Developing systems for effective two-way communication, proper recruitment of health staff, counseling should be made available. Therefore, it’s recommended that supporting mechanisms be formulated by policymakers and implemented by hospital authorities.