Stressors Amongst Jordanian Nurses Working in Different Types of Hospitals and the Effect of Selected Demographic Factors: a Descriptive- Explorative Study

Background: High stress among nurses is commonly found in clinical settings. Factors affecting stress levels are countless. In Jordan, studies have addressed a limited number of these factors, leaving others unexplored, including different work areas.Aims: This study aimed to identify the frequency of work stressors among nurses encountered in different types of hospitals and work settings, and to evaluate the association of stressors with demographic variables.Materials and Methods: This is a quantitative, cross sectional, descriptive-explorative study conducted in three Jordanian hospitals in Amman: public, private, and training. A convenient sample of 252 Jordanian nurses working in different settings was used. Data were collected using an anonymous, selfreporting, quantitative questionnaire with two main parts. The first was the non-identifying demographic component. The second part was the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) used to determine the total stress score.Results: The overall score of the participants suggests that stress is significantly higher than the reported levels in the literature. Specialty and marital status were significantly associated with high stress levels among nurses. Nurses in the training hospital had the highest stress amongst all participants. Higher than the other specialties, pediatric nurses reported significant stress levels. Although statistically insignificant, nurses working in training hospitals scored higher scores than the others.Conclusion: Stress levels are associated with the specialty and marital status of the nurses. There is a necessity to introduce stress management course for students and nurses. Further exploration in this area is required to identify sources of stress that can be managed and strategies that can work.