RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK STRESS AND HEALTH PROBLEM OF HIGH CARE INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT AND EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSES OF PERSAHABATAN CENTRAL HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT

Background: Nursing is a work with risk for stress due to use of modern equipments; inadequate ratio of nurses within ward; conflict with supervisors, managers and peer groups; workload; discriminative treatment; patients' serious condition and so on. Higher level of stress among nurses can cause health problems (physical, psychological and social) which affect achievement, quality of nursing care and others (peer nurses, patients, family, institution and so on).

Objective: The study aimed to identify relationship between work stress and health problems of High Intensive–Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department of Persahabatan Central Hospital, Jakarta.

Method: This was a correlated analytical descriptive study using a quantitative approach with cross sectional method. Data of work stress level and health problems were obtained through questionnaires. Subject of the study were as many as 40 High Intensive and Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department nurses with the criteria of not off duty/on study leave, non head of ward and willing to become respondents. The study was carried out in August 2–13, 2007.

Result: Average work stress of the nurses belonged to medium category (38.90) within interval 39-55; and average level of health problems belonged to low (33.90) within interval 22-38. Hypothetical test using Pearson Product Moment Correlation with confidence interval 95% or �� = 0.05 indicated that rxy = 0.696 or p = 0.0001 and the result of regression analysis showed that adjusted R2 = 0.622.

Conclusion: There was positive significant relationship between work stress and health problems of High Intensive-Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department nurses of Persahabatan Central Hospital, Jakarta. Workload was the most dominant factor which affected the prevalence of health problems.

Keywords: Work Stress, Health Problems, High Care Unit, Critical Nurses