The Perception of Occupation by Hospital Nurses in Poland and Germany in Terms of the Risk of Excessive Stress and Burnout as Well as Possible Coping and Preventive Solutions

Abstract

Nurses constitute a professional group exposed to a high risk of stress and occupational burnout. Fewer nurses are recruited every year and the ever higher age of those professionally active is alarming. This article presents the results of international comparative studies from 2018 and 2019 involving Polish and German nurses (747 people) dedicated to the perception of aspects of nurses’ work in terms of the risk of excessive stress and burnout and possible preventive measures. Using a proprietary questionnaire, the authors evaluated differences in the perception of the nursing profession in Poland and Germany, as well as in terms of seniority or decision-making. Next, the relationship between the perception of work specificity and opinions about professional risks and possible preventive measures was evaluated. The analysis used the Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis of the questions. Using exploratory factor analysis, the number of dimensions describing the nursing profession was reduced from 16 to four related to (1) workload, (2) job satisfaction, (3) atmosphere in the organisation and (4) sense of control over one’s own work. The results showed statistically significant differences in the perception of professional specificity and risks according to the analysed characteristics.