Oncology nurses’ perceptions of work stress and its sources in a university-teaching hospital: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aim: To explore and understand work stress and its sources among oncology nurses in a Saudi university-teaching hospital. Design: Qualitative descriptive study using semistructured interviews. Methods: Fourteen oncology nurses working in a university-teaching hospital were interviewed between October - December 2016. Qualitative content analysis according to the Krippendorff method was used to explore work-related stressors among oncology nurses in Saudi Arabia. Results: Two categories were emerged including “extent of work stress” and “work-related stressors”. The second category included the following subcategories of workload and staff shortage, emotional demands, lack of social support, language barriers, and lack of respect from patients and family members and cultural differences.