Parents' self-identified stressors and coping strategies during adolescents' spinal surgery experiences

Spinal fusion surgery for idiopathic scoliosis during adolescence is a tremendous stressor for parents. This study investigated parents' pre- and postoperative stressors and their coping strategies. Ninety-two parents identified their predominant stressor and completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire during their adolescent's preoperative clinic visit and 77 completed this procedure 4 days postoperatively. Results showed that primary stressors were parental role loss (28.26%), possibility of poor surgical outcomes (28.26%), and uncertainty about successful recovery (27.17%) preoperatively, and concerns about pain (32.47%) and parental role loss (32.47%) postoperatively. The greatest increase from pre- to postoperative periods occurred in concerns about pain. Parents used both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies with significant increases postoperatively in confrontive coping, planful problem solving, and positive reappraisal and significant decreases in self-control and seeking social support. Providers should target interventions to alleviate stress and bolster coping for parents.     

The work of auxiliary nurses in Mexico: stressors,satisfiers and coping strategies

Recruitment and retention of nursing personnel is a major problem in many parts of the world, particularly developing countries. Strategies for promoting job satisfaction can help reduce the costs of high turnover and increase the quality of patient care. As part of a larger international study on women's health, a convenience sample of 59 Mexican nursing assistants and technical nurses, categorized as auxiliary nurses, were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to elicit their perceived work-related stresses and satisfactions, as well as the coping strategies they utilized to diminish work-associated stress. Major satisfiers included self-fulfillment, providing service and working as a member of a team. Frequent Stressors were interpersonal relations, “angustia” (anguish), work overload and the work environment. These auxiliary nursing personnel utilized problem-solving techniques, recreational activities, talking to family and friends and actively trying to relax themselves in order to cope with their work-related stress.     

Nurse managers' management direction and role over time

This study illuminates how 27 nurse managers experienced management direction and roles over a time period of three years. Fourteen of the nurse managers worked full-time in management positions during the time, while 13 during the same time completed a professional development course in advanced nursing at master-degree level. Two main directions were identified. One focused on management from the perspective of power and power transference, and the other focused on management from the perspective of theoretical knowledge related to nursing development.     

Nurse case managers' perceptions of advocacy: a phenomenological inquiry

Case managers are at the forefront of managed care as they seek creative ways to advocate for the best interests of patients, while adhering to the increasingly stringent utilization guidelines and cost constraints of managed care. Nurse care managers are in the ideal position to act as effective advocates because they have the skills needed to "work the system" both within and outside the hospital to ensure that the patient's needs are met.     

Perioperative managers: role stressors and strategies for coping

This qualitative study explored the role stressors experienced by perioperative nurse managers, and identified resources and strategies they used in order to cope with the multiple demands upon their role. Grounded Theory methodology was used to inform the inquiry through interviews with the participants and thematic analysis of the data. The perioperative nurse managers who participated in the study indicated that the major stressors they experienced were related to managing their staff Stress was reduced through the use of hospital resources and peer support, referring to post management education and information obtainedfrom attending conferences. In addition, they used team building strategies, balanced priorities and engaged in social activities. These findings will assist directors of nursing and other nursing leaders in formulating the direction of appropriate support and structure for the development of perioperative nurse managers.     

The certified registered nurse anesthetist: occupational responsibilities, perceived stressors, coping strategies, and work relationships

A qualitative inquiry was launched to explore occupational stress among Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). The purpose of this study was to examine how job-related stress manifests itself among CRNAs regarding their ability to relate to their peers. Twenty CRNAs and 15 of their coworkers from North Carolina and Tennessee participated in the study. To help confirm emerging findings, data triangulation (ie, semistructured interviews, clinical observations, and artifact data) was used to answer 4 research questions. Perceived occupational-related stressors identified by the CRNAs pertained to patient care, anesthesia work in general, job relationships, inadequate surgical preparation, the operating room environment, and physical stressors. Staying focused on patient care, the use of humor, verbalization and internalization of concerns, and adopting personal hobbies were identified as coping mechanisms to combat work-related stress. Moreover, 6 major themes surfaced after analyzing the data using the constant comparative method. The findings underscore that the shortage of registered nurses and anesthetists needs to be addressed to more effectively tackle the participants' perceived stressors. Employers can adopt concrete measures in assisting CRNAs with handling occupational stress, such as offering mandatory in-servicing and adequate time to attend in-servicing.     

Nurse managers' professional networks,psychosocial resources and self-rated health

BACKGROUND: Nurse managers act under constant pressure to develop strategies in response to professional challenges within a changing and restructured health care system. When such environmental stress is present, they need access to sufficient psychosocial recourse. AIM: The study aimed to investigate whether nurse managers' professional networks, psychosocial work conditions, job support, social network and support were associated with self-rated health, sick-leave and salary. METHODS: From a total of 268 Swedish nurse managers, active in management positions, 205 (77%) agreed to participate in the study by answering a self-report questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was used to calculate internal consistency. Odds ratios were used to estimate the bivariate association between self-rated health and psychosocial resources. RESULTS: Nurse managers exposed to high job demands had significantly increased odds for low self-rated health. It was also found that low level of support from professional network, job support, social network and social support outside work displayed increased odds for low self-rated health, independently of age, gender and education. There were additive (but no synergistic) effects found for job demand in combination with professional networks, job support and emotional support and in relation to self-rated health. CONCLUSION: The study showed that nurse managers exposed to high job demands had elevated odds for low self-rated health, regardless of level of psychosocial resources within or outside work. Two-thirds of the nurse managers who were affiliated to professional networks did not consider this a supporting factor in their management work. Those with low job support had increased odds for sick-leave compared with those with high support. No significant associations were found between psychosocial characteristics and salary.     

Rural hospital nurse's stressors and coping strategies: a survey

A survey was undertaken to identify stressful situations of rural hospital nurses and to examine their stress level in relation to coping strategies, particularly social support. Eighty-seven nurses, aged 25-65 years, from rural hospitals completed the survey. Results indicated that while the stressors were similar to those identified in the literature for urban nurses and urban nursing students the frequency and importance differed. These findings are discussed in light of the unique stressors experienced by rural nurses. Results indicated a positive relationship between nursing stress and emotion-focused coping and between stress and social support. These findings are discussed in relation to Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress and coping model.     

Clinical nursing leaders', team members' and service managers' experiences of implementing evidence at a local level

kitson a., silverston h., wiechula r., zeitz k., marcoionni d. & page t. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19 , 542–555
Clinical nursing leaders’, team members’ and service managers’ experiences of implementing evidence at a local level Aim To describe the experiences of 14 clinical nursing leaders introducing a knowledge translation (KT) project into one metropolitan acute care hospital in South Australia. The study also explored team members’ and service managers’ experiences. Background KT strategies assume that local (nursing) clinical leaders have the capacity and capability to champion innovation combining positional leadership roles (ward leader) with a project lead role. There is limited evidence to support these assumptions. Method Semi-structured interviews of clinical nursing leaders and managers were undertaken at month 4 and 12 of the project. Data were also collected from the interdisciplinary team members (n = 28). Results Clinical nursing leaders identified risks and anxieties associated with taking on an additional leadership role, whereas managers acknowledged the multiple pressures on the system and the need for local level innovation. Team members generally reported positive experiences. Conclusions With support, clinical nursing leaders can effectively embrace KT project leadership roles that complement their positional leadership roles. Clinical nursing leaders’ experiences differed from nursing and medical managers’ experiences. Implications for nursing management Managers need to be more attuned to the personal risks local leaders experience, providing support for leaders to experiment and innovate. Managers need to integrate local priorities with broader system wide agendas.     

School-aged homeless sheltered children's stressors and coping behaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine the stressors and coping behaviors of school-aged homeless children staying in shelters. A secondary analysis of interview data from 30 children, between the ages of 8 to 12 years, was used to delineate the stressors and coping behaviors. Homeless, family, self, peer, school, and violent behavior were the stressor categories derived from content analysis. The children expressed more stresses in the homeless, family, and self categories than in the other 3 categories. The coping behaviors from the content analysis were categorized by using Ryan-Wenger's (1992) coping taxonomy. The majority of the children's coping responses were in the social support, cognitive avoidance, and behavioral distraction categories. Nurses should assess each child's stressors and coping behaviors when providing care to homeless children, and assist the child in alleviating some stressors by strengthening one's coping behaviors.     

儿科护士心理压力源及应对方式的质性研究

目的 探讨儿科护士心理压力源及应对方式,为儿科护士寻求有效减压方式、护理管理者实施有效干预提供参考和依据.方法 采用含有3个问题的半结构式访谈提纲,对某医院儿科的12名护士进行深入访谈,应用现象学资料整理分析方法,将资料编码、分类、解释现象实质和意义、提炼主题和要素,之后获得主题.结果 沟通、工作量以及工作表现是主要压力源.无经验的儿科护士与有经验的儿科护士相比,有经验儿科护士的应对方式更有效,负面健康结果也少得多.结论 本研究结果表明明确儿科护士压力源、积极制定并采取干预措施改善儿科护士应对方式需要个人及组织共同努力.     

Experienced stressors and coping strategies among Iranian nursing students

Background  

College students are prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. High levels of stress are believed to affect students' health and academic functions. If the stress is not dealt with effectively, feelings of loneliness, nervousness, sleeplessness and worrying may result. Effective coping strategies facilitate the return to a balanced state, reducing the negative effects of stress.     

Community mental health nurses in Wales: self-reported stressors and coping strategies

There is evidence to suggest that community mental health nurses experience stress and burnout related to their work. Previous research has been limited by a number of methodological problems. One of the problems is that studies have tended to have small or unrepresentative samples, and many researchers have only examined mental health nurses as a subset within their research, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The All-Wales Community Mental Health Nurse (CMHN) Stress Study was set up in order to address this issue. The total population of CMHNs in Wales was surveyed (N = 614) and 301 (49%) responded. The questionnaire booklet contained a number of validated instruments to measure stress, burnout, and coping, together with a demographic questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire included three open ended-questions. These questions were asked in order in determine the CMHNs' own views of the sources of stress in the workplace, and to investigate which methods they use to cope. This paper reports the findings from the content analysis of the three questions. The results from the other measures are reported in the companion paper (Edwards et al. 2000). The most frequently cited stressors included perceived workload, excessive paperwork and administration, and a broad spectrum of client-related issues. Coping strategies that CMHNs reported using included peer support, a range of personal strategies such as relaxation, and belief in self and supervision. It appears from the findings that a range of factors such as organizational pressures and factors related to working with patients are important in determining stress levels, and that informal rather than formal support networks are the preferred methods of coping.