Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana

Abstract

Abstract Background Occupational stress is increasing globally and affecting all workplaces and countries' health professionals. There is, however, a paucity of literature on the issue in Ghana. Besides, policymakers have not given it the needed much attention. We, therefore, examined the prevalence and causes of occupational stress among nurses working in a secondary care and tertiary hospitals in Ghana. Methods We conducted health facility-based cross-sectional study among 248 nurses from two hospitals (Volta Regional Hospital [VRH] and Ho Teaching Hospital [HTH]). The Perceived stress scale (PSS) and Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS) were used to measure the stress level and occupational stressors among the nurses. Descriptive analyses and t-test were performed, and statistical significance as measured at the 0.05 level. Results Majority of nurses 77.8% of experienced a moderate level of stress. The total individual mean score of the nurses from the two hospitals (VRH = 3.02 and HTH = 3.09) were 25% higher than the established WOSS. Nursing difficult patients (t=-1.1196, p = 0.037), Unfriendly relationship with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates (t=-2.3333, p = 0.020), working with incompetent staff (t=-1.3129, p = 0.037) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses in the HTH. However, long work hours (t = 2.0841, p = 0.038) and needle-stick injuries (t = 2.6669, p = 0.008) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses from the VRH. Headache (VRH = 73.8% and HTH = 97.9%), Fatigue (VRH = 68.9% and HTH = 83.5%), Frustration VRH = 50.5% and HTH = 68.3%) and Lack of Concentration (VRH = 81.6% and HTH = 80.0%) were the effects of occupational stress reported. Conclusion The study demonstrated increasing levels of occupational stress among nurses. To accelerate progress towards achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.4 of promoting mental health and wellbeing by 2030, the 2012 Mental Health Act of Ghana and the Occupation Health and safety regulations, should fully and effectively be implemented by health facilities across the country.