Job-related Stress among Nurses Working at Referral Hospitals of Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A Mixed Method

Solomon Emishaw; Desalegne Amare; Getnet Dessie

doi:10.37591/jonsp.v10i3.2245

Abstract

Background: job stress among nurses is a major concern. Since, nurses are frontline healthcare providers in Ethiopian hospitals, always overloaded with various tasks that affect theirphysical and mental health. The nature of the work and the hospital environment majorlyaffected the nurses’ work. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess nurse’s job-related stress in Amhara Region and identify stressors that lead to stress. Methods: Institutionbased cross-sectional mixed methods was used to investigate the view of the people in-depth.A total of 409 nurses were included in the quantitative study by using simple randomsampling. For both the quantitative and qualitative study, at the initial stage of data collectionand interview; informed consent was obtained from respondents. Internal validity waschecked by using Cronbach’s alpha. An in-depth interview guide was developed to provequestions and facilitate communication and was conducted by researchers. Trained nurseswere participated in the data collection process and supervision. The data were entered intoEpidata version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 21 for and Open Code Version 6.0software to analyze qualitative data. For the qualitative study, purposive sampling techniquewas employed, and 12 participants were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used. Results:The overall 51.6% (211) of nurses had job-related stress among the total of 409 nurses.Related to the role of nurses, about 56.6% (231) of participants were clear what is expected ofthem at work. Working units, experience, hospital environment, workload, needles stick injuryand blood splash, and death and dying were identified as factors affecting nurses’ workingconditions. Conclusion: The overall nurses’ stress was high. The working pressure amongstaff nurses, unfavorable working conditions, and the risk of infections were the major factorsaffecting nurses’ jobs. We suggested that hospital managers, policymakers, and higherofficials should tackle those factors affecting nurses’ jobs that can make a safe health careenvironment.