Hospital unit stressors that affect nurses: Primary task vs social factors

The Work Environment Scale: a comparison of British and North American nurses

“…Stress can be viewed rather as Mudi nursmg research mto the phoiomenon of shess a dependent vanable, that is, the personal response to a has been informed by these models and, whde early redishirbing sihiahon or environment (Selye 1956), or as an search focused upon ways m which nurses cope with the mtervenmg vanable, that is, the dwractenshcs of the shress of the woric environment, more recent research has arcumstances wbdi create the disturbance (Welford begun to examntt particular aspects of the environment' 1973) MOTe recently a transactiOTMl model of stress has and the implications for organizations Thus Menzies' Correspondence Carolme Carbsle, Lecturer Department of Nursmg, The Umversriyof ^^^^^ exmmnahon of task onentatlOn, fragmentahon l, The wheian BmUmg, PO Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BK England woik aid luiutahon of emohonal mvolvement as a m of reduang nurses' anxiety has been complemented by the later work of Bailey (1985) who found that some of the sources of stress for nurses included workload, pahent care, colleague relahonsbps and bureauaatic constramts Claus & Bailey (1980) state that stress is a major oeeupational hazard for all people who are engaged m human serviees sueh as the debvery of health eare, and it is elear from a survey of the bterature that there is an extensive volume of work on the subjeet of stress and bumout among nurses It is important to recognize, however, that stress ts not always ltmtted to job related tssues and the bterature also bghlights the role that non-job related stressors may have m the total picture of stress m nursmg Qones 1978, Seuntjens 1982 Both the type of pattent care tasks and the social systems m which they operate affect nurses' athtudes and stress levels (Mohl et al 1982) Examples of the former mdude Bailey (1985) who suggests that eoneems about patient eare may be a souree of stress amongst nurses, and MeGrath et al (1989) who idenhfied high levels of work-related stress amongst nurses and a correspondmg avoidance of emohonal demands of pahents despite encouragement to provide more personal pattems of eare Other examples of patient eare tasks wbeh are pereetved as stressful are to be found tn studies of the woric of nurses m particular speaalities, for example, mtensive care nursing gives nse to problems such as rapid changes m medical care pradice and pressures of conhnuous momtormg of cntically ill pahents (Bailey 1980, Albrecht 1982, hospice care mvolves workmg with the gravely ill and dying (Chinboga ei al 1983) and psychiatnc nurses workmg m secure environments are faced with fear of assault and accusations of malprachce Qones et al 1987) Soaal and organizational issues wbch eontnbute to stress m nursmg mdude issues such as changmg from team to pnmary nursmg (Parasuraman et al 1982), staff tumover and berarchical position (Revans 1976), workload, colleague relationships :u\d bureaucrahc constramts (Batley 1985) and, parttculariy among semor nurses, concems about power and career promohonal prospects ...…”

Social support and locus of control as correlates of UK nurses’ health‐related behaviours

“…1982 ); increased likelihood of nurses’ smoking ( Alexander & Beck 1990); and nurses’ increased vulnerability to burnout ( Kanner et al . 1982 ; Mohl et al . 1982 ; Paredes 1982).…”

“…The absence, or reduced levels of, social support has been associated with poor general health of nurses (Levi et al 1982); increased likelihood of nurses' smoking (Alexander & Beck 1990); and nurses' increased vulnerability to burnout (Kanner et al 1982;Mohl et al 1982;Paredes 1982). Constable & Russell (1986) reported that lack of supervisor support correlated with burnout.…”

The smoking behaviour of military nurses: the relationship to job stress, job satisfaction and social support*

“…Recent research has also examined the relationship between job sahsfaction and nurses' smoking In one mveshgahon (Taghacozzo & Vaughn 1982), job sahsfachon among hospital nurses was found to be mversely related to smokmg Levi et al (1982) outhned four properhes of the w<M"k environment that are assoaated with job dissahsfachon and poor health (a) quanhtahve overload-too much work, short deadhnes and repehhon, (b) qualitahve underloadnarrow and one-sided job content, lack of stimulus vanahon, and bck of opportunihes for meanmgful soaal mterachon or creahvity, (c) lack of control -an inability to m&iKnce pace and other workmg ccmdihons, and (d) ladc of soaal support -inadequate soaal networks both at home and at work. All of these properhes seem to pertam to the nursmg profession Social support, the third vanable of the mveshgahon, has been linked to job stress and physical health (Browner 1987, LaRocco et al 1980, Pines 1983, Suls 1982 Shidies (e g Spencer 1984) have shown that nurses who smoke are much more likely to live with smokers than are nonsmokmg nurses Leathar & Davies (1979) suggested that it IS a combination of psychological pressures and fnendship groups that promote mitiahon and maintenance of young nurses' smoking behaviour Another study of nurses found that nurses who were divorced, widowed or separated were more likely to be smokers (Lysaght 1979) Researchers have attempted to show that social support buffers or moderates the effects of occupahonai and life stress (Cobb 1976) and supports smoking cessahon mamtenance (Coppotelli & Orleans 1985) Research examining the role of socicd support m nursing stress and burnout has recently begun Preliminary findmgs suggest that support at woric or from family and fnends lessens climcal distress, while a lack of support enhances one's vulnerabihty to burnout (Kanner et al 1982, Mohl et al 1982, Pines et al 1981, Paredes 1982…”