Real-time monitoring of occupational stress of nurses

Abstract

Prolonged exposure to stress has been associated with chronic diseases, depression, and immune disorders. Stress perception is highly subjective. Assessment of occupational stress requires personalized physiological monitoring and timely collection of individual characterization of sources of stress. We implemented a wearable system for monitoring of occupational stress of nurses--UAHealth. Personal monitors are implemented on iPhone smartphones with Ant+ wireless interface. Interbeat intervals are collected from a chest belt, and step count and cadence from foot pod sensor. All data are processed in real-time on the phone to assess stress index. A 30-minute personalized maximum over predefined threshold initiates a questionnaire to collect assessment of sources of stress. In this paper we present system organization and preliminary results.