BACKGROUND: The disorder known as burnout develops as a reaction to the damaging impacts of workplace stress. When occupational stress is poorly managed, it can result in burnout, which has a detrimental impact on workers\' performance and emotional and physical well-being. Those who work in the helping profession are the most vulnerable. Pharmacy practitioners are among the most vulnerable groups in the healthcare industry.

BACKGROUND: Social support can help nurses cope with occupational stress and trauma, and maintain overall well-being, particularly in stressful situations such as outbreaks.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the mediating role of social support on the relationship between secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout among nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients.
METHODS: A cross-sectional, correlational, descriptive design.
METHODS: Two hundred nurses who had provided direct care to COVID-19 patients were recruited from wards in two hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Professional Quality of Life Scale tools.
RESULTS: STS had a significant and positive correlation with burnout (r = 0.610, p = 0.000); social support from family, friends, and significant others were each significantly and negatively associated with STS (r = -0.147, p = 0.038; r = -0.547, p < 0.0001; r = -0.225, p = 0.001, respectively) and burnout (r = 0-0.282, p < 0.0001; r = -0.716, p = 0.026; r = -0.377, p < 0.0001, respectively). STS had a significant effect on social support (β = -0.21, p = 0.042) and burnout (β = 0.61, p < 0.0001). Social support had a significant and partial effect on the relationship between STS and burnout (Z = 2.99, p = 0.002).
CONCLUSIONS: Social support can reduce and mitigate the negative effects of STS and burnout. This understanding could enhance nurses\' occupational lives by assisting policymakers and nurse managers in creating positive work environments that promote social support. Such policies could reduce the incidence and impact of burnout and STS.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the current status of occupational stress, occupational burn-out and sleep quality among ambulance drivers in Hengyang, China and to analyse the relationship between occupational stress, occupational burn-out and sleep quality of ambulance drivers.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study.
METHODS: Prehospital emergency centre of third-class hospital in Hengyang, China.
METHODS: From October 2023 to December 2023, a cross-sectional survey was conducted, with 213 ambulance drivers from Hengyang, China, selected as participants.
METHODS: General demographic questionnaires, the Chinese Occupational Stress Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used for data collection and analysis.
RESULTS: Occupational stress among ambulance drivers was positively correlated with occupational burn-out and sleep quality (r=0.528, 0.447, both p<0.01) while occupational burn-out was positively correlated with sleep quality (r=0.394, p<0.01). Occupational burn-out partially mediated the relationship between occupational stress and sleep quality among ambulance drivers, with a mediation effect value of 0.168, accounting for 26.09% of the total effect.
CONCLUSIONS: The sleep quality of ambulance drivers in Hengyang, China is suboptimal, with occupational stress directly predicting sleep quality. Occupational burn-out plays a partial positive mediating role between occupational stress and sleep quality among ambulance drivers. Reducing occupational stress and burn-out is beneficial for improving the sleep quality of ambulance drivers.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the effectiveness of auriculotherapy for decreasing anxiety and stress of perioperative nursing professionals.
METHODS: mixed methods research, embedded experimental model. In the quantitative stage, a randomized, triple-blind clinical trial was conducted with perioperative nursing professionals, who answered a characterization questionnaire, the List of Signs and Symptoms of Stress, and the General Anxiety Disorder-GAD 7. The participants attended eight auriculotherapy sessions with semi-permanent needles. The qualitative stage was exploratory and descriptive, in which data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were mixed with the incorporation of qualitative findings to examine the intervention in the experimental study.
RESULTS: 13 professionals participated in the intervention group and 14 in the control group. Anxiety and stress levels decreased significantly within groups, though no statistical difference was found between groups (p>0.05). The central category, \"Auriculotherapy as an intervention to treat anxiety and stress,\" emerged from the qualitative data, which was subdivided into a base unit and three categories concerning the therapy\'s benefits.
CONCLUSIONS: applying real and sham auriculotherapy had the same effect on the participants\' anxiety and stress levels; the reports reinforced such evidence. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as auriculotherapy, are essential for recovering and promoting the health of perioperative nursing professionals. Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry: RBR-3jvmdn.

BACKGROUND: Depression poses a significant challenge globally, including in safety-critical industries such as aviation. In Saudi Arabia, where the aviation sector is rapidly expanding, pilots encounter unique stressors inherent to their profession. However, research on pilot mental health, particularly within the Saudi context, remains limited despite its critical role in flight safety.
METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was designed to estimate the self-reported prevalence of depression in a convenience sample of airline pilots in Saudi Arabia. Participants were recruited from various commercial airlines in Saudi Arabia. Recruitment efforts utilized targeted outreach on social media platforms, focusing on pilot forums and groups. The survey was administered online for accessibility and convenience. The structured questionnaire, developed through a literature review and expert consultation, comprises sections on demographic and professional characteristics, occupational information, health habits, and depression assessment via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
RESULTS: This study enrolled 310 participants, with the largest cohort (34.8%, n = 108) falling within the 30-39 years age group, closely followed by individuals under 30 years (30.0%, n = 93). Males dominated the sex distribution (99.0%, n = 307). The mean PHQ-9 score was 8.2 ± 5.4. Notably, 40.6% (n = 126) of the participants had a score of 10 or higher, indicating the potential for moderate, moderate-severe, or severe depression. Multivariable binary logistic regression analysis revealed that pilots with 11-15 years of experience had greater odds of experiencing depression than did those with 0-10 years of experience did (odds ratio [OR]: 3.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.1-8.4], p = 0.04). Pilots with rest times exceeding 24 h had lower odds of depression than did those with rest times less than 1 h (OR: 0.3, 95% CI: [0.1-0.8], p = 0.02). Engaging in regular exercise was associated with reduced odds of depression (OR: 0.3, 95% CI: [0.2-0.5], p < 0.01), as was longer sleep duration (> 8 h) (OR: 0.2, 95% CI: [0.1-1.0], p = 0.04).
CONCLUSIONS: Our study estimates the prevalence and severity of self-reported depressive symptoms among airline pilots in Saudi Arabia, surpassing global estimates. The identified factors, including lack of regular exercise, short sleep duration, and insufficient rest between flights, underscore the complex mental health challenges faced by pilots in this region. Addressing these issues is crucial not only for pilot well-being but also for flight safety.

Health personnel may seek chaplain support to discuss stressors related to complex patient cases, difficult team dynamics, and personal issues. In this survey study of 1376 healthcare interprofessional clinicians, participants reported interacting with chaplains most frequently over patient-related stressors in the prior 12 months. Factors associated with chaplain interactions to discuss all three stressors included: reporting chaplains provide spiritual support to health personnel, more years of service, seeking professional help to deal with stressors, and higher levels of secondary traumatic stress. Being a registered nurse (RN) and working in a critical care specialty were associated with increased odds of interactions with a chaplain to discuss patient-related stressors while identifying as Catholic or Protestant was associated with chaplain interactions to discuss team-related and personal stressors. Chaplains should tailor interventions to promote health personnel\'s spiritual well-being based on patient-related, team-related, and personal stressors. Healthcare institutions which do not employ chaplains should advocate for this resource. Leaders in healthcare settings with chaplains should promote increased staff awareness that chaplains are available to support wellbeing by discussing patient, team, or personal stressors.

BACKGROUND: Occupational stress can affect specialty nurses\' quality of work, especially for those working in care units. This study, therefore, investigated role stress and its related factors among specialty nurses working in tertiary general hospitals.
METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study used convenience sampling to recruit 795 Chinese specialty nurses in 11 tertiary general hospitals (from February to March 2023). A questionnaire survey was conducted using the Basic Information Questionnaire and the Role Stress Scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed on the survey data to explore the factors affecting role stress.
RESULTS: The total role stress score of specialty nurses in tertiary general hospitals was 52.05 ± 19.98. The highest mean item score was quantitative overload, followed by qualitative overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity, which had the lowest score. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender (β = -0.085, p < 0.05), educational background (β = 0.077, p < 0.05), and work experience (β = -0.104, p < 0.05) were the main factors influencing role stress among specialty nurses.
CONCLUSIONS: Specialty nurses in tertiary general hospitals had higher levels of role stress than general nurses. Their role stress was primarily reflected in role overload, followed by role conflict and ambiguity. The factors affecting specialty nurses\' role stress included gender, work experience, and educational background. Nursing managers should monitor the role stress experienced by specialty nurses in tertiary general hospitals. Providing psychological support for male specialty nurses, performance rewards and learning opportunities for highly educated specialty nurses, and continuous training for inexperienced specialty nurses are essential measures to relieve role stress.

OBJECTIVE: Specialty nurses play a significant role in improving patient care; however, little is known about the factors affecting their work engagement. This study aimed to explore the relationship between role stress and work engagement among specialty nurses in China.
METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was applied in this study.
METHODS: The study was conducted in the Henan Provincial People\'s Hospital in China.
METHODS: From March to April 2023, we conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study, using convenience sampling to recruit 972 specialty nurses from 42 specialised fields in China.
METHODS: An online questionnaire survey was conducted using the Basic Information Questionnaire, Role Stress Scale and Specialty Nurse Work Engagement Scale. The collected data were analysed by using SPSS 21.0 software. The differences in total work engagement scores between subgroups were investigated using a single-factor analysis of variance. A Spearman\'s rank correlation and a Pearson\'s correlation were used to determine the relationship between general information, role stress and work engagement. A ridge regression analysis explored the impact of role stress on work engagement.
RESULTS: The total score of role stress was (52.44±19.92) and the total score of work engagement was (140.27±17.76). Among the scores of various dimensions of specialty nurses\' work engagement, the standardised score for work attitude was the highest (4.54±0.56), followed by work values (4.46±0.64); the standardised score of work enthusiasm and focus was the lowest (4.22±0.64). Additionally, role ambiguity (r=-0.352, p<0.001), role conflict (r=-0.367, p<0.001), role overload (r=-0.313, p<0.001) and role stress (r=-0.380, p<0.001) were negatively correlated with work engagement. The total score of role stress was negatively correlated with the total score of work engagement; the results of ridge regression analysis showed that age, professional title and role stress explain 14.6% of the variance in work engagement.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that specialty nurses\' work engagement was mid-level or above. Role stress was significantly and negatively correlated with specialty nurses\' work engagement, which was an important predictor of their work engagement. Nursing managers should instate effective measures to reduce role stress, thereby increasing work engagement.

BACKGROUND: Occupational stress is increasing globally and affecting all workplaces and countries\' health professionals. Despite its significant impact on healthcare delivery, limited studies have actually compared the prevalence, causes, effects, and coping strategies of stress among nurses working in hospitals with variation in capacity and function in Ghana. We, therefore, examined and compared the prevalence, causes, effects and coping strategies of occupational stress among nurses working in a secondary care and tertiary hospital in Ghana.
METHODS: We conducted a health facility-based cross-sectional study among 248 nurses from two hospitals (Volta Regional Hospital [VRH] and Ho Teaching Hospital [HTH]). The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Weiman Occupational Stress Scale (WOSS) were used to measure the nurses\' stress levels and causes of occupational stress respectively. A self-reported checklist was used to measure both the effects of stress and strategies. Descriptive analyses and t-tests were performed, and statistical significance was measured at the 0.05 level.
RESULTS: The majority of nurses 77.8% experienced a moderate level of perceived stress. The total individual mean scores of the nurses from the two hospitals (VRH = 3.02 and HTH = 3.09) were 34% and 37% respectively higher than the established WOSS individual average of 2.25. Nursing difficult patients (t=-1.1196, p = 0.037), Unfriendly relationships with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates (t=-2.3333, p = 0.020), working with incompetent staff (t=-1.3129, p = 0.037) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses in the HTH. Whereas, long work hours (t = 2.0841, p = 0.038) and needle-stick injuries (t = 2.6669, p = 0.008) were the statistically significant stressors among nurses from the VRH. Headache (VRH = 73.8% and HTH = 97.9%), Fatigue (VRH = 68.9% and HTH = 83.5%), Frustration VRH = 50.5% and HTH = 68.3%) and Lack of Concentration (VRH = 81.6% and HTH = 80.0%) were most common effects of occupational stress reported.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of nurses reported moderate levels of stress, with the two institutions\' stressors differing. Key causes of stress were needle stick injuries, long hours, dealing with challenging patients and strained interpersonal relationships. Common side effects were headaches, exhaustion, irritability, and trouble focusing. To accelerate progress towards achieving the sustainable development goal (SDG) 3.4 of promoting mental health and well-being by 2030, the 2012 Mental Health Act of Ghana and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, should fully and effectively be implemented in health facilities across the country.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of laughter yoga applied to intensive care nurses on perceived stress, job motivation, and mental well-being.
METHODS: This study was a randomized controlled trial.
METHODS: The study was conducted with nurses working at the university hospital\'s surgical intensive care and anesthesia intensive care units of the third-level intensive care unit in Turkey. Data obtained from 30 participants in the intervention group and 33 participants in the control group were analyzed. The Nurse Introduction Form, Nurse Job Motivation Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale were used to collect data. Data obtained from the study were evaluated using the SPSS 22.0 package.
RESULTS: It was determined that there was no statistically significant difference in the average scores of the pretest/posttest 1/posttest 2 of the Perceived Stress Scale (13.70 ± 3.33 to 14.57 ± 4.57, P > .05; 13.50 ± 3.15 to 13.48 ± 4.59, P > .05; and 13.56 ± 3.15 to 13.15 ± 3.49, P > .05, respectively) and Work Motivation Scale (59.70 ± 7.58 to 59.69 ± 7.98, P > .05; 60.30 ± 8.07 to 58.48 ± 8.94, P > .05; and 60.56 ± 7.86 to 57.93 ± 9.54, P > .05, respectively) for both the intervention and control groups of nurses. A statistically significant difference was found in the average scores of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale pretest/posttest 1/posttest 2 for the intervention group of nurses (50.90 ± 7.60, 51.50 ± 7.80, and 53.70 ± 7.08, respectively; F = 3.330, P = .043). However, the difference was found to be insignificant in pairwise comparisons in the further analysis (a = b = c). It was determined that there was no statistically significant difference in the average scores of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale pretest/posttest 1/posttest 2 for the control group of nurses (52.21 ± 9.89, 51.93 ± 10.45, and 51.03 ± 9.63, respectively; P > .05).
CONCLUSIONS: The application of laughter yoga on intensive care nurses did not result in a significant change in perceived stress levels and work motivation. However, statistically significant differences were observed in the average mental well-being scores among the intervention group.