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Brinkman, A. (2002). Occupational stress in hospitals: A nursing perspective. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, 8(6), 21–23.
Abstract: This article examines the environmental stressors that cause occupational stress for many nurses, particularly the health reforms and the Employment Contracts Act (ECA). The concept of stress is reviewed and theories of occupational stress are described, including the demand-control theory and the transactional model. Nurses are advised to become aware of occupational stress in their workplaces, citing a study by the author showing high levels of stress among hospital nurses.
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Richardson, S. (2005). Coping with outbreaks of the norovirus. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, 11(7).
Abstract: The author presents an overview of the impact and management of novovirus infections in New Zealand. The impact of this highly contagious virus on hospital settings is serious. With staff shortages already a problem, any outbreak of contagious disease has the potential to result in unsafe staffing, either through low numbers or poor skill mix. A report from New Zealand Environmental Science and Research (ESR) showed 35 reported norovirus outbreaks in New Zealand in the first quarter of 2004, resulting in 890 cases of the disease. Norovirus outbreaks are characterised by a rapid spread of infection, high uptake rate, and a high proportion of cases presenting with projectile vomiting. The author provides a definition of the novovirus, and looks at transmission, the management of hospital outbreaks, and the impact on emergency departments and hospital wards. Procedures include in-patient isolation. She notes there are no simple answers or “quick fixes” to the problem of norovirus outbreaks. While ongoing surveillance, recognition and isolation are key elements, there are wider structural and political implications that need to be acknowledged. These issues include overcrowding and staff shortages.
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Brinkman, A., & Caughley, B. (2004). Measuring on-the-job stress accurately. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, 18(8), 12–15.
Abstract: The authors discuss the usefulness of a generic tool to measure job stress in New Zealand workplaces, and report on a study using one such generic tool. The study involved sending questionnaires to all staff (193) who had worked at a regional women's health service for a minimum of six months. The mailed package contained the Job Stress Survey (JSS), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), demographic questions (including cultural safety), shift work questions, and a blank page for “qualitative comment”. Over 12,000 pieces of data were collected from the study but this article focuses only on the results of the JSS. The JSS can be used to determine a “job stress index” and can also be used to measure “job pressure” and “lack of organisational support”. For this study, job stress index scores were calculated and organised by occupational groupings. Midwives, nurses and doctors all cited inadequate or poor quality equipment, excessive paperwork, insufficient personal time, and frequent interruptions, as their top stressors. Three of these four stressors fall within the job pressure index. The results of the survey prompted organisational changes, including: extensive discussions; equipment being updated; management being made aware of the depth of concern felt by staff; the creation of a place for staff to have personal time; and coping intervention strategies were initiated. The authors suggest that no generic measure of job stress can fully evaluate stressors unique to a particular work setting. They support additional items being constructed and administered to assess stressors that are idiosyncratic to a particular occupational group.
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