Effects of Stress on the Job Performance of Psychiatric Nurses at Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital, Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of stress on job performance of psychiatric nurses in the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Coast. Descriptive survey design was adapted for the study. A sample of 150 psychiatric nurses were selected from a population of 197 psychiatric nurses using simple random sampling procedure. Data were collected using questionnaire adapted from Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS). Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study discovered the genesis of stress among psychiatric nurses to be feeling unsafe due to possible harm, threats and harassment from patients, difficulty communicating with the mentally ill patients, working on holidays without incentives, difficulty obtaining leave from in-charges to attend to family emergencies and inadequate logistics and protective equipment. The study revealed that the effects of stress included mild to severe headache, loss of concentration, exhaustion, anger and overreaction, finding excuses and absence from work and forgetfulness. Regarding the management of stress, the results were clear that the respondents took a short break when they feel tired, took few hours to sleep when they felt stressed and employed relaxation techniques to reduce stress. In light of the discoveries, it was suggested that the hospital authorities should structure the work schedules of psychiatric nurses in such a way that the nurses can get intermittent periods of leave away from work while at the same providing the logistics to make the work of psychiatric nurses easy.