Stress in intensive care unit nurses and the condition head/not head of a family

Abstract

Quantitative, analytical and cross-sectional study that aimed to investigate if there is relation between stress in intensive care unit nurses and the condition head/not head of a family. It was applied the Bianchi Stress Scale in 58 (100%) nurses that work in Intensive Care Units (ICU) of five hospitals. For data analysis, the Chi-square test was applied and it was noticed that, although the head of a family nurses had presented higher stress scores, there were no significant statistical differences between the general level of stress among the two groups researched (p = 0.905). There was also agreement in the high stress for these points: nursing care provided to patients; staff administration and coordination of unit’s activities. The point, relationship with other units and supervisors, was appointed as less stressful. It was concluded that the family chief condition was not relevant to the occurrence of occupational stress among the investigated nurses. Future studies are suggested, with multicenter characteristics, concerning the relationship between head of a family and occupational stress among ICU nurses.