JOB STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF FEMALE DOCTORS AND NURSES/ MIDWIVES IN SELECTED TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN IBADAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

JOB STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF FEMALE DOCTORS AND NURSES/ MIDWIVES IN SELECTED TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN IBADAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Background:
People in caring professions often handle human problems at the expense of losing their own psychological balance. Recent research shows that health care workers are experiencing more stress from the work place than their counterparts did over a decade ago. Evidence from research has shown that female health workers bear the brunt of the negative effects of job stress as a result of the dual roles of child rearing, as well as being in employment foisted on them by the society. There is still substantial lack of awareness of job stress as a significant social problem in our environment, and its effect on the psychological health of female doctors and nurses/midwives have not been extensively researched. This study therefore aimed to determine and compare job stress and psychological health of female doctors and nurses/midwives in selected tertiary hospitals in Ibadan. Coping strategies employed by these groups of professionals were also identified in the study.
Methods:
The study was a hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study, conducted from February to July 2016, comparing job stress and psychological health of female doctors and nurses/midwives and involving use of validated, standardized, self-administered instruments. The questionnaire obtained information on socio-demographic and job characteristics of respondents, job stress and stressors, job satisfaction, psychological health assessment using GHQ-28 and coping strategies. Systematic and total sampling techniques were employed to select 274 and 236 female nurses/midwives and doctors respectively from the University College Hospital and Adeoyo Hospital in Ibadan. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Predictors of poor psychological health were determined using logistic regression. Level of statistical significance was set at 5%.
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Results:
A total of 510 respondents (female doctors and nurses/midwives) participated in the survey. The mean age of doctors was 32.21 ± 6.34 years, while the mean age of nurses was 39.40 ± 9.67 years (p<0.001). On average, doctors were significantly younger (p<0.001), more educated (p<0.001) and more likely to report earning ≥#400000 than nurses (p<0.001). Nurses were significantly more likely than doctors to be currently married (p=0.004) and to have living children (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between doctors and nurses with respect to ethnicity or religion. Nurses were more likely to have worked at least 6 years in their institution, compared to doctors (p<0.001). A slightly higher proportion of doctors worked for more than forty hours per week, compared to the nurses (p=0.005).
Overall, 250 (49.0%) of the respondents reported that they experienced high stress in their jobs. Nurses (56.6%) were significantly more likely than doctors (40.3%) to report high stress (p<0.001). Nurses were more likely to report high demand and low control jobs (p<0.001), while doctors were more likely to report low demand and low control jobs (p<0.001). About one-third of the doctors (36.9%) and nurses (34.3%) had poor psychological health (p=0.547). Doctors were significantly more likely to experience anxiety and insomnia, as well as social dysfunction, compared with nurses (p=0.003 and 0.047 respectively). Nurses were more likely to exhibit somatic symptoms, compared to doctors (p=0.003).
On bivariate analysis, doctors with high job demand were significantly more likely to experience poor psychological health, compared with nurses (p=0.021). Similarly, doctors who experienced poor social support at work were also more likely to have poor psychological health, compared with nurses (p<0.001). Among doctors, having high job demand [OR 2.516 (95% CI 1.057-6.185)] and experiencing poor social support at work [OR 2.976 (95% CI 1.517-5.838)] were independent predictors of poor psychological health. Job stress [OR 3.564 (95% CI 1.266-10.034)] , having low job control [OR 2.927 (95% CI 1.159-7.394)] , as well as not utilizing any coping strategies [OR 1.842 (95% CI 1.020-3.323)] significantly increased the odds of having poor psychological health for nurses.
Conclusion
Interventions aimed at improving working conditions and addressing the welfare and psychological needs of health care professionals should be promptly implemented by the hospital management, with a view to reducing psychological distress.

Title Page———i

Certification——–ii

Dedication———iii

Acknowledgement——-iv

Abstract ———vi

Table of Content——–vii

 

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction ——-1

1.1 Statement of Problem——4

1.2 Purpose of the Study——5

1.3 Significance of Study——8

1.4 Limitation——–9

1.5 Scope of Study——-11

 

Chapter Two

2.0 Review of Related Literature —-12

2.6 Summary of Literature Review—- 19

 

Chapter Three

3.0 Research Methodology and Procedure—22

3.1 Population ——–22

3.2 Sample and Sampling Technique—-22

3.3 Validation of the Instrument —-23

3.4 Reliability of the Instrument —–23

3.5 Data Analysis——-23

 

Chapter Four

4.0 Presentation and Discussion of Result—24

4.1 Analysis and interpretaion of Data—25

4.2 Discussion of Results——38

 

Chapter Five

5.0. Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendation  –40

5.1 Summary——–40

5.2 Conclusion——–41

5.3 Recommendation——42

References ———45

Appendix 1——–47

Appendix ———50

JOB STRESS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH OF FEMALE DOCTORS AND NURSES/ MIDWIVES IN SELECTED TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN IBADAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

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