Relationship among job stressors, sleep quality and psychological health of nurses

Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship among job stressors, sleep quality and psychological health of nurses. Methods 708 female nurses in a 3-A-grade general hospitals of Guangxi were chosen and asked to fill out the Nurse Job Stressors Questionnaire-Revised (NJSQ-R), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI) and Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90). Results ① The total mean score of NJSQ-R(1.50±0.62) and the five job stressors, including the job environment and characters(1.60±0.65), personal relationship(1.21±0.73), the attitude of patient and their relatives(1.63±0.74), professional skill(1.38±0.71) and social status and career development(1.97±0.72)were positively related with the total mean score of SCL-90(1.64±0.69)(r=0.32-0.50, P<0.01)and the total score of PSQI(8.11±3.52)(r=0.28-0.35, P<0.01). There was a positive relationship between SCL-90 and PSQI(r=0.46, P<0.01)). ② SCL-90(β=0.387, P<0.01)and the job stressor of the social status and career development(β=0.120, P<0.05)were directly significantly associated with PSQI. The job stressor of job environment and characters(β=0.235, P<0.01) and professional skill(β=0.117, P<0.05)were indirectly associated with PSQI mediated by SCL-90. ③ PSQI was directly significantly associated with SCL-90(β=0.344, <0.01). The job stressor of the social status and career development was indirectly significantly associated with SCL-90 mediated by PSQI(β=0.113, P<0.05). And the job stressor of job environment and characters was directly (β=0.172, P<0.01)and indirectly(β=0.184, P<0.01) associated with PSQI mediated by SCL-90. Conclusion The higher the job stress, the more the mental health problem, and the poor the sleep quality among nurses. Job stressors have direct or indirect influence on psychological health and sleep quality, depending on the nature of job stressors. In addition, the result suggests that a bidirectional relationship exists between sleep quality and psychological health. Key words: Job stressor; Sleep quality; Psychological health; Nurses