A Cross-Sectional Study of the Causes, Effects and Management Strategies for Stress and Burnout among Nurses in the Fako Division, Cameroon

Abstract

Introduction: Stress and burnout are a reality which nurses encounter and try to cope with especially in the Emergency Department (ED) so that they can provide optimal patient care. Nurses who work in ED are front line providers of immediate medical care needed to stabilize patients. With the known critical shortage of health workforce in Cameroon, nurses are overloaded with work and often experience stress and burnout. Aim: This study aimed at determining the causes, effects and management strategies of stress and burnout among nurses working in the ED in hospitals in the Fako Division , Cameroon. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of seventy nurses from five different hospitals. A pur-posive sampling technique was used and data was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire developed from the International Stress Management Scale. Results: The highest reported cause of stress in this study was heavy workload (12.88%) and the least was no experience in handling the challenges of the department. The leading reported effect of stress was the development of musculoskeletal disorders such How to cite this paper: Therese, A.A., Ketum, A.S., Isah, M., Ayafor, T.P., Agbor, A.N., Anwi, A.T.F., Esembeson, M. and Esoh, N.B. (2020) A Cross-Sectional Study of the Causes, Effects and Management Strategies for Stress and Burnout among Nurses in the Fako Division, Cameroon. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 8, 17-27. https://doi. 18 Journal of Biosciences and Medicines as joint and back pain (16.48%) and the least effect was contemplating quitting the profession (5.99%). The major management strategy used was humour (8.27%), while the least was crying out stress to feel relieved (2.18%). Conclusion: The major cause of stress and burnout among nurses in our study setting was heavy workload, which mostly results in joint and back pain. Moreover, humour was the prime management strategy for stress and burnout among nurses in the emergency department in the study setting. Thus more nurses should be employed and the working conditions of nurses improved to reduce the workload in the study hospitals.