Nurses' Work-Related Stress in China: A Comparison Between Psychiatric and General Hospitals.

WORK environment & psychology; HEALTH facilities; PSYCHIATRIC hospitals; CHI-squared test; JOB stress; RESEARCH methodology; PSYCHOLOGY of nurses; REGRESSION analysis; RESEARCH funding; STATISTICAL sampling; SELF-evaluation; T-test (Statistics); U-statistics; WOMEN'S health; CROSS-sectional method; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; PSYCHOLOGY

Purpose Little is known about the level of work-related stress in nurses in China. This study compared the level of work-related stress between female nurses working in psychiatric and general hospitals in China. Design and Methods A descriptive comparative cross-sectional design was used. A consecutive sample of nurses from two psychiatric hospitals ( N = 297) and a medical unit ( N = 408) of a general hospital completed a written survey including socio-demographic data and a measure of work-related stress ( Nurse Stress Inventory). Findings Compared to the nurses working in the general hospital, those working in the psychiatric setting had a higher level of stress in the domains of working environment and resources ( p < .001) and patient care ( p < .001), but lower workload and time ( p < .001). Multivariate analyses revealed that college or higher level of education (β = .1, p < .001), exposure to violence in the past 6 months (β = .2, p < .001), longer working experience, and working in psychiatric hospitals were associated with high work-related stress (β = .2, p < .001). Practice Implications Considering the harmful effects of work-related stress, specific stress management workshops and effective staff supportive initiatives for Chinese nurses are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]