Workload Status and Its Relationship with Job Stress in Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Currently, the high prevalence of COVID-19 and increased workload in hospitals has posed a threat to the physical, mental, and emotional health of nurses. The present study was an attempt to investigate the workload and its relationship with job stress of nurses in COVID-19 reference hospitals in southern Iran.
 Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 on 431 nurses from COVID-19 reference hospitals in southern Iran. Data collection tools included the NASA workload and OSIPOW job stress standard questionnaires. Data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS23 Software and at a significance level of 0.05
 Results: The mean age and work experience of the nurses participating in the study were 31.03±5.23 and 6.42±4.61, respectively. The mean scores of the workload and job stresses were 83.64 ± 17.24 (of 100) and 236.68 ± 16.54 (of 300), respectively. Mental load dimension (85.81 ±19.31, of 100) among workload dimensions and role workload dimension (43.62 ± 19.14, of 50) among job stress dimensions had the highest mean score. Thus, there was found a statistically significant relationship between workload and job stress of nurses (P= 0.04, r= 0.19).
 Conclusion: Workload and job stress of the studied nurses were estimated at a high level. There was a significant positive correlation between these two variables, and increasing workload resulted in an increase in job stress.

The relation of workload and work hours with work stress of nurses during pandemic of COVID-19 in the inpatient room general hospital regional Kendari city

“…This condition is one of the triggers for work stress for nurses. Stress at work can affect the hormonal balance and normal physiology of nurses working in hospitals, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic (4).Fear of Covid-19 transmission is also one of the causes of nurses' work stress (1). In addition to fear of infection transmission, excessive workload factors and psychological fatigue resulting from work will also trigger work stress (27).…”

“…In dealing with this pandemic condition, health service units, especially hospitals, are required to be able to provide adequate resources in treating and controlling the transmission of Covid-19. The high prevalence of Covid-19 and the increased workload in hospitals pose a threat to the physical, mental, and emotional health of nurses (1). During the Covid-19 pandemic, the role of nurses is very important in preparing health services and reducing the spread of Covid-19.…”

COVID-19 Protective Behaviors of Iranian Healthcare Workers: A Psychological Theoretical Design Analysis

“…In Iran, a total of 7,040,467 confirmed cases and 136,631 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported (4). This disease has posed major challenges to individuals' physical and mental health due to its rapid spread (5). Healthcare workers (HCWs) who are at the forefront of combating COVID-19 are exposed to an increased risk of infection due to long and uncomfortable work shifts and increased workload to save patients' lives (6).…”

“…A study from China indicated that in the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, infected nurses accounted for 29% of all hospitalized cases with COVID-19 (7). In Iran, at least 40 HCWs died due to COVID-19, and hundreds of them have been hospitalized after the onset of symptoms (5). Evidently, the safety of the HCWs is not only crucial for protecting them against the virus but is also effective in preventing the transmission of the virus (8).…”

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“…Conforme relatório da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) (2016), centenas de milhões de pessoas são afetadas por infecções relacionadas à assistência à saúde (IRAS), todos os anos, mundialmente, considerado um problema de saúde pública sem precedência. Mediante a gravidade, para melhor compreensão, define-se IRAS, como adquiridas durante o processo de cuidado, que podem acontecer no intervalo de 48 horas da admissão do paciente ou manifestar após a alta, com exceção, nos procedimentos cirúrgicos sem e com implantes de próteses que se estende até 30 e 90 dias respetivamente (HESPANHOL et al, 2019;KHAMMARNIA et al, 2021).…”