A Mixed Study Of Stressors And Coping Styles Among Operating Room Nurses In A Specialist Oncology Hospital

Objectives:To investigate the current situation of stress and coping styles of operating room nurses in tertiary oncology hospitals in Yunnan Province,to understand the stressors of operating room nurses,to analyze the correlation between stressors and coping styles,and to provide a theoretical basis for managers to adopt more targeted stress management strategies to alleviate the work stress of operating room nurses.Methods:An explanatory sequential design approach in a mixed study was used.In the quantitative study,a convenience sampling method was used to administer questionnaires to 92 operating room nurses in 2 tertiary-level A oncology specialty hospitals in Yunnan Province from December 2021 to January 2022 using the General Information Questionnaire,the Operating Room Nurses Stressor Scale and the Simple Coping Style Scale.The data were statistically described,t-test,ANOVA,and multiple comparisons S-N-K using SPSS 26.0 statistical analysis software.Based on the results of the quantitative study,a phenomenological study was conducted using a judgmental sampling method to include operating room nurses who were in the middle and high levels of the Stressor Scale for semi-structured interviews in March 2022,and the information saturation interview was terminated using Colaizzi Seven-step thematic analysis was used to analyse the content of the interviews in depth.Results:1.The total stress score of operating room nurses in a tertiary level A oncology hospital in Yunnan Province was(68.67 ± 1.27),and the four dimensions scored from highest to lowest were: problems in work environment and workload and time allocation(2.72±0.06);problems in surgical care and patient care(2.37±0.06);problems in nursing profession and development(2.32 ± 0.06);problems in management and 0.06)points;problems in management and interpersonal relationships(2.09±0.06)points.2.The levels of stress and the scores on each dimension were statistically significant(p<0.05)among oncology specialist hospital operating room nurses of different ages,initial education,total monthly income,average number of night shifts per month and whether they had fixed surgical specialties.3.The positive coping dimension of the Simple Coping Style Scale scored(21.99±7.16)and the negative coping dimension scored(8.84±4.84),in which the negative coping dimension scores were statistically significant(p<0.05)among oncology hospital operating room nurses with different initial education and monthly income.4.The stressors of the operating room nurses in the oncology specialty hospital included 5 themes and 11 sub-themes,namely workload and operating room environment(workload,occupational exposure,work environment),aspects of surgical nursing(inventory of items,professional skills),clinical teaching(teaching of nursing students in practice,teaching of rotating nurses),interpersonal relationships(doctor-nurse relationship,inter-nurse relationship)and nursing career development(promotion opportunities,social status).5.The coping styles of nurses in the operating theatres of specialist oncology hospitals were distilled into two themes and five sub-themes: positive coping(releasing stress to recreation,emotional management and objective acceptance of reality)and negative coping(avoidance,dependence on others).Conclusions:1.The level of stress among nurses in the operating theatres of specialist oncology hospitals in Yunnan Province was at a moderate level.The top two sources of stress were workload and operating room environment and surgical nursing problems.In order to improve the quality of nursing care in the operating room and speed up the efficiency of operating room operation,it is suggested that the operating room managers should pay attention to the stress situation and physical and mental health of nurses,adopt measures to increase human resources and reduce workload by flexible scheduling;strengthen the construction of operating room subspecialties,and at the same time strengthen the training of business ability to improve the professional and technical level of operating room nurses;improve the working environment and cultivate the psychological adjustment ability of nurses.In order to improve the ability of nurses in the operating room to cope with stress,we have taken measures such as improving the working environment and cultivating the psychological adjustment ability of nurses.2.Nurses’ coping style in the operating room of Yunnan Provincial Cancer Hospital was mainly positive coping,and different initial education and monthly income affected the score of negative coping dimension.Nurses mainly adopted recreation,emotion management and acceptance of reality to cope with stress,but nurses with low seniority also adopted negative coping styles such as avoidance and dependence on others to deal with stress.Therefore,when formulating stress management strategies,nursing managers should pay more attention to junior nurses and provide appropriate social support to reduce psychological stress and maintain nurses’ physical and mental health.3.The results of the qualitative study provided important additions and interpretations to the results of the descriptive study and found that clinical teaching was also a source of stress for nurses in the operating theatres of specialist oncology hospitals.The positive coping style adopted by OR nurses in the face of stress provides a reference point for future stress management strategies.