Work Stress of Nurses in The Emergency Department of the General Hospital during Covid-19 Pandemic

Background : The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in additional working hours, especially who work in the emergency unit. The increasing number of patients, the risk of contracting COVID-19 can cause work stress for nurses. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between workload and work stress of nurses in the emergency room of the general hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic Subjects and Method : A cross-sectional study was carried out at the emergency department of the general hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 44 nurses was selected by purposive sampling. The dependent variable was work stress. The independent variable were age, gender, and workload. The data were collected by The Health & Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tools (HSE-MS IT). The data were analyzed by odds ratio and chi-square Results : As many as 97.7% of nurses experienced excessive workload. 50% of nurses experienced stress. Nurses age (OR= 0.83; 95% CI= 0.25 to 2.72; p= 1.000) and gender (OR= 1.59; 95% CI= 0.73 to 3.42; p= 0.332) has not affected to work stress and both were statistically not significant. Nurses workload was positively related to work stress, and it was statistically significant (OR= 2.08; 95% CI= 1.50 to 2.78; p= 0.050). Conclusion : Nurses workload in the emergency department of the general hospital is positively related to work stress during COVID-19, and it is statistically significant.