Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana

Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana Vincent Uwumboriyhie Gmayinaam, Abraham Norman Nortey, Saviour Sedode, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Occupational stress is increasing globally and affecting all workplaces and countries' health professionals. There is, however, a paucity of literature on the issue in Ghana. Besides, policymakers have not given it the needed much attention. We, therefore, examined the prevalence and causes of occupational stress among nurses working in a secondary care and tertiary hospitals in Ghana. Methods We conducted health facility-based cross-sectional study among 248 nurses from two hospitals (Volta Regional Hospital [VRH] and Ho Teaching Hospital [HTH]). The Perceived stress scale (PSS) and Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS) were used to measure the stress level and occupational stressors among the nurses. Descriptive analyses and t-test were performed, and statistical significance as measured at the 0.05 level. Results Majority of nurses 77.8% of experienced a moderate level of stress. The total individual mean score of the nurses from the two hospitals (VRH = 3.02 and HTH = 3.09) were 25% higher than the established WOSS. Nursing difficult patients (t=-1.1196, p = 0.037), Unfriendly relationship with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates (t=-2.3333, p = 0.020), working with incompetent staff (t=-1.3129, p = 0.037) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses in the HTH. However, long work hours (t = 2.0841, p = 0.038) and needle-stick injuries (t = 2.6669, p = 0.008) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses from the VRH. Headache (VRH = 73.8% and HTH = 97.9%), Fatigue (VRH = 68.9% and HTH = 83.5%), Frustration VRH = 50.5% and HTH = 68.3%) and Lack of Concentration (VRH = 81.6% and HTH = 80.0%) were the effects of occupational stress reported. Conclusion The study demonstrated increasing levels of occupational stress among nurses. To accelerate progress towards achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.4 of promoting mental health and wellbeing by 2030, the 2012 Mental Health Act of Ghana and the Occupation Health and safety regulations, should fully and effectively be implemented by health facilities across the country. Mental Health Occupational stress Prevalence Nurses Ghana Ho Teaching Hospital Volta Regional Hospital Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Data.csv S1. Data used for the study. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Aug, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Jun, 2024 Reviews received at journal 22 Jun, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 May, 2024 Reviews received at journal 25 May, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 May, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 22 Feb, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 22 Feb, 2024 Editor invited by journal 20 Dec, 2023 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Dec, 2023 First submitted to journal 12 Dec, 2023 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3743577","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":261842797,"identity":"51f14e2d-f5cb-4a9a-b6b4-4ee17759c81b","order_by":0,"name":"Vincent Uwumboriyhie Gmayinaam","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vincent","middleName":"Uwumboriyhie","lastName":"Gmayinaam","suffix":""},{"id":261842799,"identity":"fac7cae6-f34b-42cd-8f86-9cd898a1082b","order_by":1,"name":"Abraham Norman Nortey","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abraham","middleName":"Norman","lastName":"Nortey","suffix":""},{"id":261842800,"identity":"b1e01c68-9f4d-4652-8ad7-ca51991a28b8","order_by":2,"name":"Saviour Sedode","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saviour","middleName":"","lastName":"Sedode","suffix":""},{"id":261842801,"identity":"c721af81-1205-4cf6-b6a8-7661d1c46d95","order_by":3,"name":"Samuel Kwasi Apedo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Samuel","middleName":"Kwasi","lastName":"Apedo","suffix":""},{"id":261842804,"identity":"fa004f5b-b687-4260-bbe2-4291f5739ff5","order_by":4,"name":"Mark Kwame Ananga","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mark","middleName":"Kwame","lastName":"Ananga","suffix":""},{"id":261842806,"identity":"11237e96-98f1-4e20-a631-41cf5017d381","order_by":5,"name":"Gideon Kyedodu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gideon","middleName":"","lastName":"Kyedodu","suffix":""},{"id":261842807,"identity":"f3f13d39-644a-41fa-ac5e-efac5bd67897","order_by":6,"name":"Pearl Kwabla","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pearl","middleName":"","lastName":"Kwabla","suffix":""},{"id":261842808,"identity":"2d8ece60-7554-4ceb-ade1-3caf61b38948","order_by":7,"name":"Eric Osei","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Health, and Allied Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eric","middleName":"","lastName":"Osei","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-12-12 11:44:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19757-3","type":"published","date":"2024-08-20T15:57:42+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":63998034,"identity":"c26cf7f4-5888-4f1b-9fab-5d5bd6b013b2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-04 18:05:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":433538,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FINAL.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3743577/v1_covered_34cbc318-e0cb-4d53-984b-a6c746332342.pdf"},{"id":48672491,"identity":"8d9c4fd2-ff62-49f6-bca5-46b0c0b078b6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2023-12-22 11:49:59","extension":"csv","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":135275,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eS1. Data used for the study.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Data.csv","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3743577/v1/53c242b655eedeb78227cf42.csv"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Mental Health, Occupational stress, Prevalence, Nurses, Ghana, Ho Teaching Hospital, Volta Regional Hospital","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOccupational stress is increasing globally and affecting all workplaces and countries' health professionals. There is, however, a paucity of literature on the issue in Ghana. Besides, policymakers have not given it the needed much attention. We, therefore, examined the prevalence and causes of occupational stress among nurses working in a secondary care and tertiary hospitals in Ghana.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e We conducted health facility-based cross-sectional study among 248 nurses from two hospitals (Volta Regional Hospital [VRH] and Ho Teaching Hospital [HTH]). The Perceived stress scale (PSS) and Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS) were used to measure the stress level and occupational stressors among the nurses. Descriptive analyses and t-test were performed, and statistical significance as measured at the 0.05 level.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMajority of nurses 77.8% of experienced a moderate level of stress. The total individual mean score of the nurses from the two hospitals (VRH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.02 and HTH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.09) were 25% higher than the established WOSS. Nursing difficult patients (t=-1.1196, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.037), Unfriendly relationship with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates (t=-2.3333, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.020), working with incompetent staff (t=-1.3129, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.037) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses in the HTH. However, long work hours (t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.0841, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.038) and needle-stick injuries (t\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.6669, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.008) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses from the VRH. Headache (VRH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;73.8% and HTH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;97.9%), Fatigue (VRH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;68.9% and HTH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;83.5%), Frustration VRH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;50.5% and HTH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;68.3%) and Lack of Concentration (VRH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;81.6% and HTH\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;80.0%) were the effects of occupational stress reported.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study demonstrated increasing levels of occupational stress among nurses. To accelerate progress towards achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.4 of promoting mental health and wellbeing by 2030, the 2012 Mental Health Act of Ghana and the Occupation Health and safety regulations, should fully and effectively be implemented by health facilities across the country.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Work-related stress among Nurses: a comparative cross- sectional study of two Government Hospitals in Ghana","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2023-12-22 11:49:49","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3743577/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-06-23T05:23:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-06-22T22:38:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"30345638112544225119502949275721206091","date":"2024-05-29T12:02:37+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-05-25T18:02:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"148053549287387588147920801943875034786","date":"2024-05-12T23:45:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-02-22T09:20:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-02-22T09:19:22+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2023-12-20T17:01:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2023-12-20T16:55:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2023-12-12T11:31:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3071a521-19ee-42ee-9288-669815fa287c","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 22nd, 2023","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-09-04T17:14:08+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-3743577","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19757-3","journal":{"identity":"bmc-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2024-08-20 15:57:42","publishedOnDateReadable":"August 20th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2023-12-22 11:49:49","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12889-024-19757-3","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19757-3","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3743577","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3743577","identity":"rs-3743577","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"7rjqhiLT3MXkJMwkYKINL","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}