The Overview of Job Stress and Patient Safety Culture among Nurses in the East Coast Teaching Hospital, Malaysia

Abstract

Patient safety is attributed to the responsibility of each component that exists in the healthcare system in an organization. Accidents may happen based on as a result of lack of attention, mistaken perception, or improper cognition or attention such as distraction [1]. Nurses are considered to carry high job stress, and low sleep quality problems due to uneven working shifts compared to other occupations [2]. Nurses are often associated with overwhelming workloads and busy schedules, and this situation could compromise their work performance and patient safety [3].
 
 This study aims to determine the prevalence of job stress and the patient safety culture among the nurses in the East Coast Teaching Hospital, Malaysia. There were 188 nurses who were randomly selected and agreed to participate in this study. The assessment was conducted using validated questionnaires, comprised of Expanded Nursing Stress Scales and Safety Attitude Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and Pearson’s correlation test.
 
 The study showed that 61.5% of the respondents suffered mild job stress, while 1.4% experienced severe job stress (Table 1). More than half of the respondents (74.1%) gave negative responses towards patient safety culture at their workplace showing their low awareness on patient safety culture (Table 2). Stress recognition factor (80.4%) was reported as the main factor for the negative response on patient safety culture among respondents. There was a significant inverse linear relationship between job stress and patient safety culture (r=-0.338, p<0.001). 
 The result revealed that the majority of the nurses enrolled in this study experienced unsatisfactory patient safety culture levels. Most of the respondents expressed appreciation for their job, however, several other domains received less positive responses. The overall patient safety culture can be improved by providing measures to correspond with the stress factors experience by the nurses.