The effect of Stress Inoculation Program (SIP) on nurses’ Perceived stress in psychiatric wards

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric Nurses tolerate high levels of occupational stress. So stress management programs should be developed to prevent those effects on nurses. Aim: to determine the effect of SIP on nurses’ perceived stress in psychiatric wards. Method: In this randomized clinical trial 60 nurses and healthcare workers, working in Ebne-Sina Psychiatric Hospital were enrolled. They were randomly assigned between two groups based on work shift and job status. Intervention consisted of two 8-hour workshop sessions with one week interval, including SIP training. Kohn Perceived Stress Scale was used as data gathering scale, at the beginning of the study, after 2nd session and 1 month thereafter, in which the higher score indicated the lower level of stress. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including student t test, Chi-square and AVOVA with SPSS version 11.5. Results: The results showed that perceived stress was increased one week and one month after intervention (32/2 ± 7/4 at the beginning of the study vs. 36/4 ±7/9 one week and 40/1 ±4/9 one month after the intervention) (P<0/005). However, the average perceived stress score decreased in the control group one week and one month after the intervention compared with the beginning of the study (P=0/0000). Conclusion: Since S.I.P is an affordable, effective and safe manner to improve the nurses’ perceived stress, it is proposed for reduction of job stress and as a consequence improving the quality of nursing care.