Occupational stress and associated risk factors among nurses: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Nursing can be a demanding and stressful occupation.Aims/Objectives: To determine the prevalence of nurses’ occupational stress and associated risk factors.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Methods: 5422 nurses in Iran were surveyed and demographic information and occupational stress assessed (2895 of returned surveys analysed).Results: Mean score for overall occupational stress was 3.48 indicating a stress level between moderate and high, with 78.4% of respondents reporting that their job was stressful. Nurses reported issues with shift work, staffing, pay, workplace discrimination, management, policy and excessive workloads. Risk factors in the multivariate analysis for higher occupational stress were; female gender (p = .002), being married (p = .008), lower educational levels (p < .001), increased work hours (p < .001), and working in emergency (p = .025), general wards (p = .012), and teaching hospitals (p < .001).Conclusions: The high prevalence of occupational stress demonstrates the extent of the issue, despite recent reforms. The risk factors identified allow for more targeted interventions.