Correlates of work-place stress: a case study of Botswana nurses working in clinics

Abstract

The nature of the work of a nurse incorporates several distinctive and stressful features which include dealing with crises, the continuous physical and emotional demands of patients, and daily confrontation with pain, suffering, and death (Douglas, Meleis, Eribes and Kim 1996; Hillhouse and Adler 1997; van Wijk 1997). As a result, nurses experience higher rates of stress- related disease, mortality, suicide, psychiatric admissions, and general physical illness than does the general population (Harris 1989.