Abstract
The aim of this study was to identify and analyse professional stressors, evaluate the level of stress in nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU), and assess the correlation between the perception of stress and psychological and somatic symptoms or diseases shown by nurses. The research, designed as a cross-sectional study, was carried out in the Intensive Care Units (ICU), in health centres in Serbia. The sample population encompassed 1000 nurses. Expanded Nursing Stress Scale (ENSS) was used as the research instrument. ENSS revealed a valid metric characteristic within our sample population. Nurses from ICUs rated situations involving physical and psychological working environments as the most stressful ones, whereas situations related to social working environment were described as less stressful; however, the differences in the perception of stressfulness of these environments were minor. Socio-demographic determinants of the participants (age, marital status and education level) significantly affected the perception of stress at work. Significant differences in the perception of stressfulness of particular stress factors were observed among nurses with respect to psychological and somatic symptoms (such as headache, insomnia, fatigue, despair, lower back pain, mood swings etc.) and certain diseases (such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, diabetes mellitus etc). In view of permanent escalation of professional stressors, creating a supportive working environment is essential for positive health outcomes, prevention of job-related diseases and better protection of already ill nurses.
Highlights
University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Nursing1; University of Novi Sad, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Clinic of Psychiatry2; University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology3; University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Special Rehabilitation and Education4; The Institute for the Health Protection of Workers Novi Sad5; University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Occupational Medicine6, Novi Sad, Serbia
The theoretical background of factorial structure of the questionnaire was confirmed by Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
Physical working environment was described by the subscale workload, while psychological working environment was described by the following subscales: death and dying, inadequate preparation, and uncertainty concerning treatment
Summary
The aim of this study was to identify and analyse professional stressors, evaluate the level of stress in nurses in Intensive Care Units (ICU), and assess the correlation between the perception of stress and psychological and somatic symptoms or diseases shown by nurses. In view of permanent escalation of professional stressors, creating a supportive working environment is essential for positive health outcomes, prevention of job-related diseases and better protection of already ill nurses. Occupational stress occurs when demands of the working environment overpower the capacities of workers to cope with them. It can affect all categories of workers and all professional areas [1, 3]. According to conclusions of the majority of available research, a higher rate of professional stress is established among middle-aged population, widowed, divorced or separated individuals and among professional groups such as nurses, teachers, and managers [7,8,9]
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