General Health Status and Its Related Factors in the Nurses Working in the Educational Hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, 2011

Abstract

Background Nursing is an extremely stressful profession. Nurses are confronted with a variety of personal, communicational and organizational stresses, which affect their health. Objectives The current study aimed to assess general health level and its related factors in employed nurses in educational hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of medical sciences. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 126 nurses and practical nurses who work in educational hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of medical sciences selected by multi stage sampling method. Data collecting tools included demographic characteristics and General Health Questionaire-28 (GHQ-28). Descriptive statistics are presented and Chi-square test, t-test, and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. Results Of 126 subjects 75 (59.5%) cases were suspects of mental disorders. Also 12.7% had physical disorders, 15.9% had anxiety and sleep disorders, 8.7% had social dysfunction and 6.3% had depression. Average score of mental health was 28.4 .In this study mental health was significantly associated with job satisfaction and economic satisfaction (P < 0.05). Conclusions With regard to significant relation between mental health, job satisfaction, and economic satisfaction, a system for educating and stress reduction counseling should be established to help nurses effectively coping with stress. Also, improving the work environment, increasing staff, increasing salary, and decreasing working hours may reduce the nurses' exposure to stressful risk factors.