ROLE OF SHIFT WORK, MARITAL STATUS AND AGE ON WORK STRESS AMONG NURSES IN PUBLIC HOSPITAL

This study investigated role of shift work, marital status and age on work stress among Nurses in the public hospital. One hundred and eighty eight (188) nurses drawn from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu participated in the study. Participants were within the age range of 20-60 with the mean age of 40 years. It was hypothesized that the nurses on shift work would not differ significantly from nurses on non shift work in experiencing work stress. Secondly, that married nurses would not differ significantly from unmarried nurses in experiencing work stress. Thirdly, that the older nurses would also not differ significantly from the younger nurses in experiencing work stress. The Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) was used for data collection. A three-way ANOVA results indicated no significant main effects of shift work, marital status and age on work stress. There was also no significant interaction effect of shift work, marital status and age on work stress. The results were discussed in terms of their relevance to hospital work and attendance, and suggestions for further studies were made.