Comparative study of stress and coping between nurses working with children and nurses working with elderly

Abstract: Differences between strain, role stress and coping were studied on nurses,
who care for children and elderly. The sample consisted of 18 nurses, who
worked with children and 48 who worked with elderly. Psychological strain,
two dimensions of role stress: role conflict and role ambiguity, and coping
were mapped with a survey. Coping was measured qualitatively. The results
indicated that nurses who worked with elderly experienced significantly
more physical strain. Psychological strain was high for both groups.
Nurses, who worked with children, on the other hand, experienced
significantly more role ambiguity, had greater risk for burnout and had
poorer definition of responsibility and explanation about what has to be
done in their work. They also thought about work significantly more during
their leisure time, than nurses from the other group. Coping was similar in
both groups. Nurses experienced that talking with co-workers was a good
coping strategy, which is categorized as emotion-focused coping. Hospital
nurses from two different organizations experienced that they had enough
support from administration, but many nurses from the third organization,
which was an old peoples’ home, were not satisfied with their support from
administration. The results showed that organizations can influence a great
deal to diminish nurses’ strain and help them cope from a stressful
situation. A majority of the differences occurred because of the
organizations.