OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG NURSES IN LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL (LASUTH), IKEJA LAGOS STATE
OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES
Keywords:
Nurses, Occupational Stress, Coping mechanisms, job stress, emotional health, workloadAbstract
Objectives: To assess the occupational stress and coping mechanisms among nurses working in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 251 nurses of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja using a 2-stage sampling technique and a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and presented in frequency tables, mean and standard deviation. Chi square was used to determine the association between categorical variables with level of statistical significance set at less than 0.05 (p < 0.05).
Results: Majority (96.0%) of the respondents were females and 63.7% married. The prevalence of stress among the respondents was 87.6%. Sources of Stress included having a lot of tasks (88.0%), workplace demands (67.7%), malfunctioning equipment (76.1%), unsafe working environment (50.6%) and poorly defined procedures (44.2%). Coping mechanisms included physical exercise (92.1%), talking to friends (88.0%), praying/meditating (81.9%) and sleeping (80.6%). Only 6.9% stayed at home (6.9%) and 1.9% drank alcohol (1.9%). There was a statistically significant association between age, ethnicity and level of education and the perception of stress among the respondents.
Conclusion: Occupational stress abounds among nurses due to work overload leading to a range of physical, social and mental illnesses. Stress is majorly relieved by exercising, talking to friends, sleeping and praying. Stress management strategies should be taught to nurses. Roles, duties and responsibilities of nurses should be clearly defined to minimize workplace stressors.
