THE MEANING OF STRESS IN A PROFESSIONAL NURSING TEAM

Abstract

Introduction: Stress is one of the greatest health problems among nursing workers in the hospital area. Physical and mental health conditions provoke different responses to the same stimuli. The aim of this work is to characterise the aspects of personal and professional variables that can influence the quality of life for 408 nursing workers. Methods: The participants were members of the nursing staff of the hospital and were active and assigned to several units. The data were collected in a public university hospital, in a descriptive exploratory study using a questionnaire about the respondents’ sociodemographic profiles, concept and perceptions of their state of stress. Results: The working time x stress perceptions demonstrated the influence of length of serviceon the stress process. Of the408participating professionals, 40.4% indicated that they viewed stress asachange in behaviourcomparable to overloadand exhaustion, and 13.7% reported astress-focused view of disease. The nature of this stress response depended on the stressor and its meaning the individual’s capacity to cope with the stressor. Conclusions: Regardless of the respondents’ number of hours worked and concept of stress, most professionals showed behavioural changes related to stress. Studies should be developed to deepen the scientific debate about stress and individuals’ awareness of their perceptions of stress and its consequences to improve nursing team´s quality of life.