Stress among nurses who work at the intensive care unit

Stress has been observed among various professionals, including intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, due to their close contact with patients in distress and at the risk of death. This situation becomes worse due to the need for direct and intensive care. This study was performed to characterize nurses...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Preto, Vivian Aline, Pedrão, Luiz Jorge
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2009
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Repository:Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP (Online)
Language:Portuguese
English
OAI Identifier:oai:revistas.usp.br:article/40483
Online Access:https://www.revistas.usp.br/reeusp/article/view/40483
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Estresse
Enfermagem
Unidades de Terapia Intensiva
Estrés
Enfermería
Stress
Nursing
Intensive Care Units
Description
Summary:Stress has been observed among various professionals, including intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, due to their close contact with patients in distress and at the risk of death. This situation becomes worse due to the need for direct and intensive care. This study was performed to characterize nurses working at ICU and verify the presence of stress among them. A total of 21 ICU nurses from five hospitals located in the state of São Paulo answered a series of questions about the ICU and completed the Nurse Stress Inventory. Study results showed that 57.1% of nurses consider the ICU a stressful place, and 23.8% achieved a high score, indicating the presence of stress. Stress continues to affect these professionals, and institutions do not offer any special care for nurses in the sense of promoting comprehensive health care.