Citation

Chang EM, Hancock KM, Johnson A, Daly J, Jackson D. Nurs. Health Sci. 2005; 7(1): 57-65.

Affiliation

University of Western Sydney, College of Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, Sydney, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1442-2018.2005.00221.x

PMID

15670007

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to review the literature on factors related to role stress in nurses, and present strategies for addressing this issue based on the findings of this review while considering potential areas for development and research. Computerized databases were searched as well as hand searching of articles in order to conduct this review. This review identified multiple factors related to the experience of role stress in nurses. Role stress, in particular, work overload, has been reported as one of the main reasons for nurses leaving the workforce. This paper concludes that it is a priority to find new and innovative ways of supporting nurses in their experience of role stress. Some examples discussed in this article include use of stress education and management strategies; team-building strategies; balancing priorities; enhancing social and peer support; flexibility in work hours; protocols to deal with violence; and retention and attraction of nursing staff strategies. These strategies need to be empirically evaluated for their efficacy in reducing role stress.

Language: en