Mental Health Status among Midwives Working in Tehran's Public Hospitals

Abstract

Background & Aim: Working conditions in some professions particularly among health care providers result in exposure to various stressors in daily work life that can affect mental health status. Regarding specific conditions that midwives encountered in their workplace, this study investigates mental health status among midwives working in Tehran's public hospitals and its related factors.Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study all midwives working in Tehran's public hospitals who had inclusion criteria (n=370) were studied. Data were gathered using GHQ-12 questionnaire and then were analyzed using chi-square statistical test. Results: The results showed that 35.1% of subjects had not good mental health. Midwives' mental health was significantly related to their educational level (P<0.001), economic statue (P=0.04), marriage status (P<0.001) and shift work (P=0.02).Conclusion: Regarding high prevalence of poor mental health status among midwives, it is recommended to investigate related occupational factors in order to improve working conditions of midwives working in hospitals.