Assessing Workplace Stress of Healthcare Staff

Introduction: Workplace stress affects both the physical and the mental health of health care staff, causing a decrease in their performance and their quality of life. Objective: The present study aims to assess the levels of workplace stress of healthcare staff. Material and Method: The sample was 185 members of healthcare staff working in Children's Hospital “P. & A. Kyriakou,” “Aghia Sofia” General Children's Hospital, and “Ippokrateio” General Hospital of Athens from Januray 2019 until November 2019.The data collection was performed with the use of the Expanded Nursing Stress Scale. The analysis was performed with the use of SPSS-22; t-test and anova were also used. Statistical significance was determined at < 0,05. Results: 87,0% of the sample were women; 11,9% were nursing assistants; 37,8% were vocational nurses; 7,0%, were nurses with an academic education;15,1% were interns; and 28,1% were licensed doctors. 47,9% had a specialty in Pediatric Nursing; 33,1% in Pediatrics; and 15,5% in Internal Medicine. The rating scale average was 3,1±0,5, which translates to “quite” up to “very” stressful. Vocational nurses were found higher in the rating scale (p=0,007), thus, reported higher levels of stress, with those on a high-level management function (p=0,013) and the ones working morning shifts (p=0,015) followed. Conclusion: Stress among health care staff depends on many workplace factors. Efforts in improving working conditions contribute in reducing workplace stress.