Effects of Occupational Stress on the Mental Health of Nurses in the Limbe and Buea Regional Hospitals, Cameroon

Authors

  • Binwi Florence
  • Mezatio Tsopbeng Maina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47672/ajhmn.1880

Keywords:

Occupational Stress, Mental, Health, Nurses, RHL, BRH

Abstract

Purpose: Nursing is an extremely stressful job, and high levels of occupational stress are believed to have negative effects on nurses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of occupational stress, factors contributing to occupational stress on nurses and effects of occupational stress on nurses' mental health. A cross-sectional study design was used. The study duration was five months. A sample of 102 nurses was purposively selected to take part in the study from the Limbe and Buea Regional Hospitals, Cameroon and distributed by probability proportionate to size. Data was collected using a well structured questionnaire and entered into an excel spreadsheet then analyzed using the Weiman Occupational Stress Scale(WOSS).

Materials and Methods: Data was presented using tables. A cut off point of 43.6 was used to determine the level of stress. Anyone above 43.6 had severe and anyone below 43.6 had mild effects.

Findings: The study found out that nurses of the hospital were found to experience above average levels of occupational stress with the mean score and individual average score of 59.93 and 3.40 indicating a 51% higher than the established Weiman Occupational Stress Scale mean score of 33.75 and individual average of 2.25. The study found out that 61% of the nurses had severe stress while 39% had mild stress. The study also found that the most common stressors were Long work hours, handling a large number of patients alone and insufficient salary whilst the effects of occupational stress on mental health include: poor appetite, insomnia, depressive mood, trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping not too much, forgetfulness.

Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Nurses should identify and use mechanisms that help them to better cope with stress.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

World Health Organization(WHO). (2020). Stress at the workplace. https://www.who.int/occupational_health/topics/stressatwp/en/

Guo YF, Luo YH, Lam L, Cross W, Plummer V, Zhang JP. Burnout and its association with resilience in nurses: A cross-sectional study. J Clin Nurs. 2018 Jan;27(1-2):441-449. doi: 10.1111/jocn.13952. Epub 2017 Sep 4. PMID: 28677270.

Dagget T, Molla A, Belachew T. Job related stress among nurses working in Jimma Zone public hospitals, South West Ethiopia: a cross sectional study. BMC Nurs. 2016 Jun 16;15:39. doi: 10.1186/s12912-016-0158-2. PMID: 27313502; PMCID: PMC4910212.

Karimi, A., Adel-Mehraban,M., & Moeini, M. (2018). Occupational stressors in nurses and nursing adverse events. Iranian journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 23(3), 230-234. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr. IJNMR_253_15PMID: 29861763; PMCID: PMC5954646.

Health and Safety Executive (2020). Work-related stress, anxiety or depression statistics in Great Britain, 2020. https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress.pdf.

Dighe SV. Occupational stress among nurses. International Journal of Science & Healthcare Research. 2020; 5(3): 25-29

Unaldi Baydin N, Tiryaki Sen H, Kartoglu Gurler S, Dalli B, Harmanci Seren AK. A study on the relationship between nurses' compulsory citizenship behaviours and job stress. J Nurs Manag. 2020;28(4):851-9.

Layali I, Ghajar M, Abedini E, Emadian SO, joulaei M. Role of Job Stressors on Quality of Life in Nurses. J Mazandaran Univ Med Sci. 2019;29(180):129-33.

Adzakpah G (2016) Occupational stress among nurses in a hospital setting in Ghana. Clin Case Rep Rev 1: doi: 10.15761/CCRR.1000207

Tangi Tupavali Lukolo, Linda N Lukolo, Lukangi Charles Kimera (2021). The effects of workload on Nurses' mental health in Katutura state hospital in Windhoek, Namibia. International journal of medical science and health research. Vol5.No.03:2021.ISSN:2581-3366. DO1:10.51505/ijmshr.2021.5307. Retrieved from Researchgate.net.

Emmanuel Kokoroko, Mohammed A. Sanda (2019). Effect of workload on job stress of Ghanaian OPD Nurses: The role of the coworker support. Safety and health at work, volume 10, issue 3, https://do.org/10.1016/; show.2019.04.002. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2093791118304050

Fatemeh Rostami, Amin Babaei-Pouya, Gholamheidar Teimori-Boghsuni, Azam Jahangirimehs, Zahra Mehri, and Maryam Feiz-Arek (2021). Mental workload and Job satisfaction in Healthcare workers: The moderating role of Job control. Frontiers in Public Health. 2021;9:683388.doi:10:3389/Fpubh.2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8446529/#__ffn_sectitle.

Godwin Adzakpah, Alexander S. Laat and Harrison S. Fiadjoe. Occupational stress among nurses in a hospital setting in Ghana. 2017. Clin Case Rep Rev 1: doi: 10.15761/CCRR.1000207

Ali- Reza Babapow, Nasrin Gahassab-Mozaffai & Azita Fathnezhad-Kazemi. Nurses' Job Stress and it's Impact on Quality of Life and Caring Behaviours: a cross-sectional study.BMC Nursing 21, Article number75(2022).

Doruk Yaylak, Betul Calisgan, Tugrem Karakas, Ozge Mertt, Cerren Onc, Ozon Kose, Zerrin Gokce Yucel & Llolkan Inal. Heavy Workload of Nurses and Effects of it on Sleep/Rest Levels. TMSJ.

Pennbrant S, Daderman A. Job demands, work engage- Ëšment and job turnover intentions among registered nurses:Explained by work-family private life inference. Work.2021;10(Preprint):1-3.

Arslan SS, Alemdaroglu ˘ Ë™ I, Karaduman AA, Yilmaz OT. The ¨

effects of physical activity on sleep quality, job satisfaction,

and quality of life in office workers. Work. 2019;63(1):3-7.[10]

Queijo AF, Martins RS, Andolhe R, Oliveira EM, BarbosaRL, Padilha KG. Nursing workload in neurological intensive care units: cross-sectional study. Intensive and CriticalCare Nursing. 2013;29(2):112-6.

Hazavehei SMM, Hamidi Y, Kharghani Moghadam SM, etal. Exploring the views of medical staff in transforming ahospital into a health promoting

Downloads

Published

2024-03-16

How to Cite

Florence, B. ., & Maina, M. T. . (2024). Effects of Occupational Stress on the Mental Health of Nurses in the Limbe and Buea Regional Hospitals, Cameroon. American Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing Practice, 10(1), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajhmn.1880