PREVALENCE OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG NURSES WORKING IN SELECTED DEDICATED COVID HEALTH CENTERS (DCHCS)
Keywords:
Occupational stress, Nurses, COVID-19.Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives. Nurses’ reactions to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic must be viewed from an occupational health and safety perspective. Month after month of working in the high-stakes environment of COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the mental health and well-being of nurses. The aim of this study is to assess the occupational stress among nurses working in Dedicated COVID Health Centres (DCHC).
Methods: The study was done by collecting data from nurses working in selected DCHC’s of Satara District. Descriptive study design was used to assess occupational stress among nurses. Data collection tool consisted of Self-Prepared 5-point Likert Scale to assess occupational stress. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 participants. 15 to 20 minutes were given to participants to complete the questionnaire. Data was analysed using frequency, percentage, and Chi square test.
Results: The findings of the study revealed that out of 50 participants 0% had mild, 28% had moderate, 56% had severe, and 16% had very severe occupational stress. The study also showed that there was no significant association between prevalence of occupational stress and demographic variables like Age, Level of education, Number of years of work experience, Duration of work experience in DCHC, Marital status and prevalence of occupational stress among nurses working in DCHC, Chi -square value =1.049, 3.199, 0.519, 1.838, respectively (P= 0.5917, 0.202, 0.7714, 0.3988, 0.2092 respectively).
Conclusion: Occupational stress is prevalent among nurses which can affect their motivation and level of functioning. This study findings indicate the need to plan measures to combat stress among nurses working in communicable disease departments.
