The prevalence of occupational stress among Iranian midwives: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background Occupational stress is one of the undesirable risk factors found in the midwifery profession. It can lead to job burnout, job loss and negatively affect the quality of patient care. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of occupational stress among Iranian midwives. Methods Through searching national and international databases, a total of 11 observational studies with full texts were extracted. Observational studies in Persian or English that reported the prevalence or frequency of job stress among Iranian midwives were included in the analysis. Irrelevant studies, those conducted on midwifery students and gray literature were excluded. The meta-analysis was conducted using the random-effects model. Results 11 articles reviewed occupational stress in 1196 midwives (an average of 108 midwives per study). Analysis of the articles showed that the pooled prevalence of occupational stress was 70.82% in Iranian midwives. Meta-regression analysis showed that the prevalence of occupational stress was not related to mean age, work experience, articles' publication year or sample size. Conclusions The prevalence of occupational stress is high among Iranian midwives and it can have harmful consequences for them and their patients. Therefore, the training of stress coping strategies seems to be appropriate for this group.