Workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses

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Abstract

Role stress has always been a concern for nurses and health care administrators. Most research, however, on role stress in nurses has taken place in Western cultures. Limited research in the area has taken place in Asian cultures and particularly in the country of Japan. Since the role of the hospital nurse in Japan is vastly different from the role of the hospital nurse in Western cultures and select Asian cultures, it is unclear what part workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics play in the physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses. Therefore, this study chose to examine, in Japanese hospital nurses: (a) the relationships among various workplace stressors, ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health; and (b) which workplace stressors, coping mechanisms and demographic characteristics were the best predictors of both physical and mental health. Data were obtained from 310 nurses who completed four questionnaires. Numerous significant correlations were found among the variables. Workload and number of people living in the household were found to be the best predictors of physical health. The best predictors of mental health were likelihood to leave the current nursing position, lack of support in the workplace, and escape-avoidance coping.

Introduction

Given the nursing shortage that exists around the world, there has been a great deal of interest, over the past 30 years, in how nurses contend with stressors that exist within their professional role. Thus, a considerable amount of research has been conducted and disseminated on this topic. The bulk of the research, however, has taken place in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Although other countries have conducted research on role stress in nurses, the number of studies has been limited and, in some cases, non-existent (Lambert and Lambert, 2001). Nurses in Asia, particularly in Japan, have engaged in a limited number of research projects that focus on the workplace stressors of nurses, especially nurses who work within a hospital setting. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to examine, in Japanese hospital nurses: (a) the relationships among role stress, ways of coping, demographic characteristics, and physical and mental health; and (b) which combination of variables (role stress, ways of coping and demographic characteristics) was the best predictor of both physical health and mental health.

Section snippets

Review of literature

Role stress has been conceptualized as the outcome of disparity that exists between an individual’s perception of the characteristics of a specific role and what the person, currently carrying out the specific role, is achieving. In other words, role stress occurs when divergence exists between what a person perceives to be the role expectations and what actually is occurring within the role.

Articles published, since 1990, in English language professional journals, reveal that research studies

Sample

The sample consisted of 310 Japanese nurses employed in six hospitals, located in the central, western, and southern parts of Japan. Two of the hospitals were teaching hospitals, with the remainder being private (see Table 1). Fifty-four percent (n=181) of the study sample worked in a teaching hospital, with the remaining 46% (n=108) working in private hospitals.

The subjects ranged in age from 21 to 60 years, with an average age of 39.4 years. They were predominately female (93.2%, n=289), not

Results

A correlation matrix was calculated to show the correlations among the variables. The coefficient of multiple correlation, determined through stepwise multiple regression, was used to describe: (a) which combination of independent variables (workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristic) was the best predictor of physical health, and (b) which combination of independent variables (workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics) was the best predictor of

Discussion

The positive correlations that existed among age and years worked as a nurse, and years worked on the clinical unit, level of income, and number in the household is not surprising. As the employed nurse’s age increases so does the number of years he/she spends working in nursing and in practicing nursing on a particular clinical unit. In Japan, since the level of one’s salary is based upon the number of years worked rather than the level of experience or educational credentials, age and years

Limitations and future research

The results of this study add information to the existing body of knowledge with respect to demographic characteristics, workplace stressors, ways of coping, and physical and mental health of Japanese hospital nurses. In addition, the findings suggest what factors are the best predictors of physical and mental health regarding demographic characteristics, workplace stressors and ways of coping.

As with any study, this research has limitations. A survey design was used and, thus, data were

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Hiroki Yamase, RN, MSN and Keiko Masamura, RN, BEd, from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, for assisting with obtaining access to the hospitals used for data gathering, distributing the questionnaires and for locating relevant information about the translated versions of two of the instruments.

Funding was provided by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Tokyo, Japan and the President’s Special Funds, Yamaguchi University School of

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  • 1

    At the time of this research, these investigators were employed as: Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Ube, Japan.

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