Background: Job stress is the most important factor in reducing organizational productivity. Therefore, this study aimed to identify prevalence of job stress among nurses in Iran.Methods: This study was conducted using a meta-analysis. All published articles on prevalence of job stress among nurses in Iran until July 2018 were searched and collected using PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Scopus, Magiran, IranMedex and SID and Bibliography section of the retrieved papers and related journals. Finally, 22 empirical studies were reviewed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software.Results: The overall prevalence of job stress in Iranian nurses was 49.5% (95% CI 41.9%-59.1%). The highest job stress was recorded in Tehran in 2016, 96.4% (95% Cl: 90.3%-98.7%) and the lowest job stress was found in Kashan in 2011, 2.5% (95% Cl: 6.0%-1.0%). Significant statistical correlation was observed between job stress, year and sample size (p<0/05).Conclusion: job stress affects about half of nursing staff in Iran; thus, managers and policymakers should take serious measures to reduce prevalence of job stress among nurses.

The authors have withdrawn this preprint due to author disagreement.