The Effectiveness of a Nurse-led Education on Coping Strategies of Occupational Stress among Nurses in Tertiary Hospitals, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract:

This study determined the effectiveness of a nurse led education on coping strategies in reducing occupational stress among nurses in two selected tertiary hospitals in Ekiti State. Quasi-experimental method was used. 118 nurses were selected and allocated into intervention and control groups using simple balloting technique. The nurses in the intervention groups had 3 sessions of educational workshop within a month while those in control groups had none. Data were collected pre and post interventions, analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test and Paired t-tests. The majority (79%) of the nurses were female, the prevalent type of stress experience was due to workload with a mean stress score of almost 3 across all groups. There were no differences between the pre- and post-intervention stress levels for all types of stress apart from stressful situation due to conflict among nurses. Most participants reported physical symptoms of stress and multiple coping strategies improved significantly among the intervention groups. The study suggests that nurse-led education could improve the use of coping strategies among nurses. Keywords: Nurse-led education, Occupational stress, Nurses, Coping strategies, Effectiveness, Tertiary hospital, Ekiti State