Stress among nurses working in intensive care units in selected hospitals

Abstract

Introduction: Occupational stress has been an evident phenomenon in the nursing profession. This is probably due to the nature of nursing duties which are hectic and challenging. Despite the overwhelming stress that nurses may be facing, inadequate effort has been made towards helping the nurses to cope with stress. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore stress among nurses working in the Intensive Care Units. The causes of stress and effects of stress will be explored; coping abilities as well as the suggested measures for improving the situation will be investigated. Methodology: A convergent parallel mixed method approach will be used. The study will be conducted in four hospitals in Botswana; these will include one government referral hospital, one government district hospital, one private hospital and one mine hospital which is not profit making. The population of interest are the nurses working in Intensive care units in selected hospitals in Botswana and purposive sampling will be used in this study. Permission will be sought from the Ethical Review Boards: a) the university of Botswana and b) Ministry of Health in order to ensure protection of participants’ dignity, rights, and safety. Informed consent shall be sought from the study population by first explaining the objectives of the study, the risks and the benefits of the study. The consent form will be provided for signing to those who will choose to participate in the study. Confidentiality will also be ensured so as to protect identity of the respondents and the rights of the individuals will be respected to avoid The Job Demands-Resources conceptual framework developed by Demerouti Bakker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli (2001) was used to guide the development of this proposal. The researcher used the model as a guide for literature review and development of a questionnaire and interview guide that assesses the job demands and job resources for the nurses working in the selected Intensive Care Units.