Stress among Critical Care Nurses: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: In intensive care units, the frequency with which nurses interact with patients who are afflicted with diseases that pose a threat to their lives, the work environment in which nurses are employed is among the most stressful of all professional settings. It is a known truth that nurses may be subjected to a range of pressures at work, some of which may be related to the admittance of patients or the obligations of the organization. The consequences of occupational stress on nurses are a global problem that has greater importance in practice than they do in any one geographic area. Objective: To investigate the frequency of factors that contribute to the high levels of work-related stress experienced by critical care nurses working in tertiary care hospitals. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 139 nurses providing critical care at tertiary care hospitals using a random sample method. Participants were registered nurses who worked in the nursing profession for at least three months and were certified by the Pakistan Nursing Council. A questionnaire that the participants answered on their own time was used to collect the data for this study. The information was interpreted with the use of descriptive statistics, and the results were presented with the assistance of tables, charts, and percentages. Results: It was demonstrated that just 2.9% of participants reported severe level of stress, even though the majority of participants (55.4%) reported experiencing moderate level of stress while 41.7% of nurses reported mild stress. The eight determinants of stress experienced by intensive care unit nurses are calculated and workload-related stress was found to be the most frequent source of stress affecting 50.4% of nurses. Conclusion: It is concluded that all nurses who worked in vital areas experienced some amount of stress, majority of them deal with moderate level of work-related stress.