34. The coping strategies towards occupational stress among nurses in Taiwan: does the culture matter? (164)
Shu-Fen Su, Assistant Professor in Nursing, School of Nursing, Chung-Shan Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan
Co authors: Jennifer Boore & Mary Jenkins
sofe6726@yahoo.com.tw
Abstract:
Numerous studies have indicated that nurses’ coping strategies may be related to their job stress, satisfaction, perceived heath status, or mood. However, limited qualitative research has been conducted to explore nurse’s coping mechanisms and which factors could influence their adoption of coping. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between nurse’s coping strategies and intervening factors towards job stress. A total of 28 nurses from 7 hospitals participated in the semi-structured interviews, with questions focused on how participants cope with their job stress and why they use these methods. Data were analyzed through a multi-step synthesized grounded theory analysis procedure developed by the researchers. Constant comparison, asking questions, theoretical sampling, maintaining memoranda, and reviewing references were utilised throughout the data collection process until theoretical saturation was achieved. Member checking and an expert panel were involved to maintain research integrity. Findings in this study demonstrated that nurses in Taiwan tended to utilise negative rather than positive coping strategies. Suppressing negative emotions, weeping privately, enduring unfair treatment, sacrificing their basic self needs and time for work, taking sleeping pills, keeping distance from co-workers, or cursed during work were often used by nurses to overcome their job stress. Praying to Buddha was identified as a help-seeking behaviour in coping. Culture and individual were the two factors identified to interact actively in facilitating or constraining these coping strategies. Nurses perceived that their Chinese culture, personality, and lack of personal resources influenced them in dealing with stress. Some coping strategies were identified as the new phenomena which have not been found in the global nursing studies, including Taiwan. This may be because the researchers used established coping measurement tools to evaluate their participants. Therefore, we suggest that nurse’s coping behaviours need to be further studied with the consideration of culture difference.
Recommended reading list:
• Lambert, VA, Lambert, CE & Ito, M 2004, ‘Workplace stressors, ways of coping and demographic characteristics as predictors of physical and mental heath of Japanese hospital nurses’, International Journal of Nursing Studies, vol. 41, pp.85-97
• Cheng, BS, Farth, JL, Chang, HF & Hsu, WL 2002, ‘Guanxi, Zhongcheng, Competence, and managerial behaviour in the Chinese context’, Chinese Journal of Psychology, vol. 44, no.2, pp.151-166
• Mulcahy, C & Betts, L 2005, ‘Transforming culture: an exploration of unit culture and nursing retention within a neonatal unit’, Journal of Nursing Management, vol.13, pp.519-523
Source of Funding: N/A
Amount in Funding: N/A
Biography:
Dr. Shu-Fen Su is an assiatant professor from School of Nursing in Chung-Shan Medical University, Taiwan. Academic work experiences: assistant professor, 2 years in teaching. Clinical work experiences: Head nurses, 8 years in cardiac-vascular intensive care units.My professional specialty: intensive care nursing, cardiac-vascular nursing, surgical-medical nursing, grounded theory, quality control, work stress,and stress management.