%0 Journal Article
%T Factors and symptoms associated with work stress and health-promoting lifestyles among hospital staff: a pilot study in Taiwan
%A Yueh-Chi Tsai
%A Chieh-Hsing Liu
%J BMC Health Services Research
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6963-12-199
%X We conducted a cross-sectional study from May 1, 2010 to July 30, 2010 and recruited 775 professional staff from two regional hospitals in Taiwan using purposive sampling. Demographic data and self-reported symptoms related to work-related stress were collected. Each subject completed the Chinese versions of the Job Content Questionnaire (C-JCQ) and The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLSP). Linear and binary regression analyses were applied to identify associations between these two measurements and subjects¡¯ characteristics, and associations between the two measurements and stress symptoms.Self-reported symptoms of work-related stress included 64.4% of subjects reporting nervousness, 33.7% nightmares, 44.1% irritability, 40.8% headaches, 35.0% insomnia, and 41.4% gastrointestinal upset. C-JCQ scores for psychological demands of the job and discretion to utilize skills had a positive correlation with stress-related symptoms; however, the C-JCQ scores for decision-making authority and social support correlated negatively with stress-related symptoms except for nightmares and irritability. All items on the HPLSP correlated negatively with stress-related symptoms except for irritability, indicating an association between subjects¡¯ symptoms and a poor quality of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors.We found that high demands, little decision-making authority, and low levels of social support were associated with the development of stress-related symptoms. The results also suggested that better performance on or a higher frequency of health-promoting life-style behaviors might reduce the chances of hospital staff developing stress-related symptoms. Our report may contribute to the development of educational programs designed to encourage members of high stress groups among the hospital staff to increase their health-promoting behaviors.
%K Healthcare workers
%K Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLSP)
%K Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)
%K Occupational stress
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/12/199/abstract