Stress Management and Coping Strategies among Nurses : A Literature Review

Abstract

There is obvious need to have the safest working environments and the best quality of health care delivery to patients by nurses working in the hospitals. Effective stress management and coping strategies is one very important step towards this goal. This research aims to identify the major stressors for nurses and the most effective management and coping strategies as contained in literature. This involved excellent review of relevant articles in addition to deductive content analysis of the data generated. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping by Lazarus and Folkman formed the theoretical framework for this study. In particular, the following research questions were invoked; 1. What are the major sources of stress for nurses working in healthcare institutions? 2. What combination of institutional management practices and individual coping strategies are most effective for nurses to manage their stress? Findings from this study show that combination of physical factors, administrative and organisational malfunction, psychological factors and interpersonal conflict are the major sources of stress for nurses working in the hospitals. On the other hand, the best management and coping strategies for nurses involves combination of personal coping skills, effective organisational plans and social support.