The Relationships Among Workplace Stressors, Coping Methods, Demographic Characteristics, and Health in Australian Nurses

Chang, Esther M.; Daly, John W.; Hancock, Karen M.; Bidewell, John; Johnson, Amanda; Lambert, Vickie A.; Lambert, Clinton E.

doi:10.1016/j.profnurs.2005.12.002

« Previous Next »Journal of Professional Nursing
Volume 22, Issue 1 , Pages 30-38, January 2006

The Relationships Among Workplace Stressors, Coping Methods, Demographic Characteristics, and Health in Australian Nurses

Esther M. Chang, PhD
- Professor of Nursing and Director of Research, School of Nursing, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Chang: School of Nursing, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta Campus, P.O. Box 1797, Penrith South DC 1797, Sydney, Australia.
John W. Daly, PhD
- Professor and Head, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Karen M. Hancock, PhD
- Research Associate, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
John Bidewell, PhD
- Professional Officer, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Amanda Johnson, MHScEd
- Lecturer, School of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Vickie A. Lambert, DNSC
- International Nursing Consultant, Lambert & Lambert Nursing Consultants, Odenton, MD
Clinton E. Lambert, PhD
- International Nursing Consultant, Lambert & Lambert Nursing Consultants, Odenton, MD

Nursing is known to be stressful. Stress detrimentally can influence job satisfaction, psychological well-being, and physical health. There is a need for increased understanding of the stress that nurses experience and how best to manage it. Three hundred twenty Australian acute care public hospital nurses participated in a study by completing four questionnaires that examined (a) how various workplace stressors relate to ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms, and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of physical and mental health. Significant correlations were found between stressors and physical and mental health. Multiple regression showed age to be the only significant predictor of physical health. The best coping predictors of mental health were escape–avoidance, distancing, and self-control. Other significant predictors of mental health were support in the workplace, the number of years worked in the unit, and workload. Mental health scores were higher for nurses working more years in the unit and for those who used distancing as a way of coping. Mental health scores were lower for nurses who used escape–avoidance, lacked workplace support, had high workload, and used self-control coping. The findings have implications for organizational management, particularly in terms of recommendations for stress management, social support, and workload reduction.