Abstract

Background: Stress has been recognized as a significant psychosocial and physiologic component in educational and practical processes. Objectives: The purpose of present study was to survey stress among Iranian nurses in critical wards. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 3643 anonymous questionnaires were disseminated among nurses in different hospitals in Tehran, Iran, by utilizing multistage random sampling. The questionnaire consisted of two sections: demographic characteristics and a 22-item list on a five-point Likert scale. The association of variables with stress was evaluated using hierarchical logistic regression. Results: A total of 3043 completed questionnaires were completed and returned (response rate, 83.53). Age (> 33 years, 1571 (51.63); < 33 years old, 1472 (48.37)), marital status (single, 188 (6.18); married, 2685 (88.24); and widow, 170 (5.59)), working shift (morning, 605 (19.88); evening, 631 (20.74); night, 603 (19.82); and rotation, 1204 (39.57)), and the years of experience of nurses (1 - 5 years, 413 (13.57); 6 - 10 years, 589 (19.36); 11 - 15 years, 832 (27.34); 16 - 20 years, 758 (24.91); and 21-25 years, 451 (14.82)) had significant association with the level of stress (P < 0.05 for all parameters). However, sex (male, 937 (30.79); and female, 2106 (69.21)), education (associate, 444 (14.59); baccalaureate, 2250 (73.94); and master, 349 (11.47)), and body mass index (> 24.6 kg/m(2), 2514 (49.75); and < 24.6 kg/m(2), 1529 (50.25)) showed no significant association with the level of stress (P > 0.05 for all parameters). Conclusions: Considering the personal and background characteristics of personnel and understanding their association with stress and stressful situations encompasses the ability to persevere and adapt to contextual stressors.