InvestigatIion on the work stress and psychological status of nursing staff in a general hospital

Objective To study the work stress and psychological status of nursing staff as well as their relationship,so as to provide scientific references for alleviating work stress and improving mental health.Methods 532 nurses insome general hospital were chosen by target sampling,and self-designed questionnaire,work stress scale and SCL-90 were used to investigate their basic information,work stress and psychological status.Results Work stress analysis showed that,among 5 dimensions of nursing staff' s work stress,the score of nursing,nursing profession and work was the highest,respectively (2.73 ± 0.62),(2.61 ± 0.61).The score of somatization,obsessive-compulsivesymptoms and interpersonal sensitivity in SCL-90 was respectively (1.80 ± 0.50),(2.07 ± 0.55),(1.82 ± 0.52),higher than the norm which is (1.37 ± 0.48),(1.62 ±0.58),(1.65 ± 0.51),and the differences were statistically significant (t =17.37,15.43,6.49,respectively;P ＜ 0.01) ; the score of depression,paranoid,psychosis,anxiety,hostility,terror in SCL-90 was respectively higher than the norm (P ＜ 0.01).There was no statistically significantdifference of mental health scores between nurses of different genders (P ＞ 0.05).Score of somatization was relatively higher in nursing staff who were over 40 years old,officially employed or nurses-in-charge and above (P ＜ 0.05).Score of interpersonal relationship,anxiety,hostile and horror was relatively higher in nursing staff who were under 40,non-officially employed or below nurses-in-charge (P ＜ 0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that,professional title,nursing for patients,management and interpersonal relationship,nursing profession and work were the four main influencing factors for nursing staff' s mental health,and the order of importance was professional ＞ nursing profession and work ＞ nursing for patients ＞ management and interpersonal relationship.Conclusions Nursing staff' s work stress is high and their psychological status is not good enough in general hospital.Scientific measures should be taken by hospital manager to alleviate nursing staff' s work stress and improve their mental health. Key words: Nursing staff;  Work stress;  Psychological health;  General hospital