Healthcare professionals’ knowledge of job stress, perceived signs and symptoms, and coping strategies: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Context: Prolonged work hours with associated sleep deprivation through night-shifts, uncontrolled schedules, and high job demands have been adjudged major sources of job stress among healthcare professionals, thus affecting workers’ mental and physical health. This study determined healthcare professionals’ knowledge of job stress, perceived symptoms, and coping strategies in Cross River State, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey that employed 30-item semi-structured questionnaire to elicit information from 422 healthcare professionals selected using simple-random-sampling technique across 21 secondary and primary healthcare facilities in Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, Nigeria. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software (version 20.0). Quantitative data were summarized as mean +/-standard deviation while categorical data were summarized as frequencies and percentages. Pearson-Chi-square test was used to test for association between categorical variables at 5% level of significance (p-value < 0.05).

Results: Majority 278(66.0%) were females; 215(50.9%) were aged between 18 and 30 years; 235(55.7%) had worked for 1-5 years. Less than half, 184(43.7%), had good knowledge of job stress (mean knowledge score was 14.0±5.1). Most 261(61.8%) perceived their symptoms of job stress to be severe; only 145(22.9%) used approved work-free days as coping strategy. Association between knowledge of job stress and coping strategies (p=0.001) and perceived stress symptoms and coping strategies (p=0.001) were significant.

Conclusion: Knowledge of job stress was good; symptoms of job stress was severe, and adoption of days-off was the main coping strategy. Hence, public health education intervention on health impact of job stress and stress reduction strategies is strongly advocated and recommended.