Professional quality of life and occupational stress in nursing workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the levels of professional quality of life and the occupational stress in nursing professionals. Method: Cross sectional study conducted between April and August 2020, with nursing professionals working in inpatient units for clinical and surgical patients of a large hospital. The Work Stress Scale and the Professional Quality of Life Scale were applied. Results: The sample consisted of 150 professionals, with a mean age of 43 ± 8.89 years, being 84.7% (127) female. The mean of the work stress scale was 1.9 (± 0.71), a moderate level of stress. It was found that compassion satisfaction had a median of 50.3 (9.1 - 64.6), burnout of 48.5 (32.2 - 84.8) and post-traumatic stress disorder of 47.1 (38.6 - 98.3). Conclusion: Stress at work and Compassion Fatigue were identified in the sample, especially in secondary-level professionals, demonstrating the need to implement strategies to reduce psycho-emotional harm in these professionals.

Keywords

• Indicators of quality of life
• Occupational stress
• Nursing
• Occupational health
• Psychological distress