2023 JOB STRESS, BURNOUT AND COPING MECHANISMS OF STAFF NURSES

JOB STRESS, BURNOUT AND COPING MECHANISMS OF STAFF NURSES

Methodology

This study will apply descriptive-correlational design employing quantitative approaches in determining levels of job stress, job burnout and as well as the coping mechanisms of nurses in Hail public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. This research will be conducted at Hail in Saudi Arabia. The hospital it will collect data from Hail is Hail General Hospital (HGH), King Khalid Hospital (KKH), Maternity and Child Hospital (MCH), King Salman Specialist Hospital (KSSH) and Alamal Complex. The researchers will select 108 out of 150 nurses in HGH, from KKH 44 out of 50 nurses, from MCH 26 out of 30, from KSSH 26 out of 30 and 80 out of 100 from Alamal complex using 95% level of confidence with a margin error +/-5%. The researchers will be using quota sampling in choosing respondents assigned in different areas in HGH, KKH, KSSH and Alamal complex. They must be employed in not less than 6 months.

This study will be using 1 instrument (questionnaire) with four parts. The first part of the instrument is a researcher-made tool to determine the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, civil status, highest educational attainment, work status, area of assignment, average census/day, length of service and average monthly income.

The second part of the instrument is a 5-point likert questionnaire developed by Leatt et al (1980) called the Job Stress Questionnaire.

Job stressors or inputs were measured by the Job Stress Questionnaire (JSQ). The JSQ was initially developed by Leatt and Schneck (1980) to assess head nurses’ perceptions of stressors. By rewording slightly, Lobb and Reid (1987) adapted the JSQ to assess perceptions of stressors in a group of staff nurses and head nurses. This instrument consists of 21 items representing job stressors such as “inability to satisfy conflicting demands,” and asks respondents to rate each according to the frequency with which it occurs (“never, rarely, sometimes, often, always”) and the intensity of the stress it induces (“very little, a little, some, quite a bit, very much”). Leatt and Schneck (1985) used the stress questionnaire to investigate differences between nursing subunits in hospitals. Within subunits they multiplied the mean of individual intensity scores by the mean of individual frequency scores to derive a composite stress score for each situation.

The third part of the instrument is a validated 7-point likert questionnaire by Christina Maslach and colleagues called the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is an introspective psychological inventory consisting of 22 items pertaining to occupational burnout. The original form of the MBI was constructed by Christina Maslach and Susan E. Jackson with the goal to assess an individual’s experience of burnout. The MBI measures three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Each respondent indicates their answer on a seven point likert scale ranging from 0=Never , 1=A few times a year or less , 2=Once a month or less , 3= A few times a month , 4=Once a week , 5= A few times a week , 6= Every day.

The fourth part of the instrument is a self-report questionnaire, developed by Carver (1997) to assess a number of different coping behaviors and thoughts a person may have in response to a specific situation. It was revised into a shorter version by the Department of Psychology, University of Miami (both because of the length and redundancy of the full instrument and because of the overall time burden of the assessment protocol). This is called the Brief Cope Inventory.

The questionnaire consists of 28 coping behaviours and thoughts (2 items for each subscale) with fourteen theoretical coping responses: self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, use of emotional support, use of instrumental support, behavioural disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humour, acceptance, religion and self-blame. These are measured across a five- point likert scale 1=never , 2=rarely , 3=sometimes 4=often and 5=always.

Scales are computed as follows (with no reversals of coding):

Self-distraction, items 1 and 19 Active coping, items 2 and 7 Denial, items 3 and 8 Substance use, items 4 and 11 Use of emotional support, items 5 and 15 Use of instrumental support, items 10 and 23 Behavioral disengagement, items 6 and 16 Venting, items 9 and 21 Positive reframing, items 12 and 17 Planning, items 14 and 25 Humor, items 18 and 28 Acceptance, items 20 and 24 Religion, items 22 and 27 Self-blame, items 13 and 26

Data analysis. The following are the statistical treatment to be used for the study:

Simple Percentage will be used to determine the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of age, sex, civil status, highest educational attainment, work status, area of assignment, average census/day, length of service and average monthly income.

Composite Scoring will be used to measure the level of job stress in terms of intensity and frequency.

Weighted mean will be used to determine the level of burnout and coping mechanisms.

Chi-square will be used to determine the relationship between the profile and level of job stress, the relationship between the profile and level of job burnout and the relationship between the profile and coping mechanisms.

Pearson r will be used to determine the relationship between the level of job stress and job burnout, the relationship between the level of job stress and coping mechanisms, and the relationship of job burnout and coping mechanisms.

APPENDIX 1. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Part I.

Demographic Profile

1. Age:

2. Sex: ( ) male ( ) female

3. Civil status: ( ) single ( ) married

4. Highest Educational Attainment:

( ) BSN ( ) with Masters unit ( ) with Masters degree

( ) with Doctorate unit ( ) with Doctorate degree

5. Work status: ( )regular ( )casual ( )job order

6. Area of assignment: ( ) ward ( ) special area

7. Length of service: _______

8. Average patients handled per day: ______

9. Average monthly income: ______

Part II.

Job Stress Questionnaire

The first part of each question is concerned with the intensity of a stressor(s). The second part is concerned with the frequency of the stressor(s). Please circle the answer that most closely approximates your perception regarding your typical work experience.

1. How stressful is it if nursing staff have insufficient resources to do all the things that should be done?