Nursing physical workload and mental workload in intensive care units: Are they related?

Abstract

Aim In order to ensure patient safety and quality of care, it is important to consider factors which may impact on nursing workloads. This study aimed to investigate the simultaneous physical and mental workload and any relationships between these concepts on nurses working in intensive care units. Design A cross‐sectional design was undertaken. Method Participants were nurses (N = 105) recruited from six adult intensive care units which met the inclusion criteria. Nursing Activities Score (NAS) to measure physical workload and NASA Task Load Index (NASA‐TLX) to measure mental workload were used. Data were collected for each participating nurse in three shifts (morning, evening and night). Data were analysed using bivariate correlation and multivariable linear regression analysis. Results The mean (SD) of nurses' physical and mental workload was 72.84% (22.07%) and 70.21 (12.36), respectively. A significant relationship between physical and mental workload (p <.001) was identified.

Anxiety and depression among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

“…In addition, according to a report by the World Bank, Egypt is facing a shortage of physicians and nurses, and this statistics is 0.5 per 1000 people for physicians and 1.9 per 1000 for nurses [ 32 ]. Therefore, the shortage of staff led to a high workload 33 , 34 , resulting in increased anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 35 ].…”

Insecure Employment Contracts during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Need for Participation in Policy Making

“…A low QWL is attributed to reforms in the Iranian health system after the implementation of the HSEP. Inequalities in payment and heavy workloads, particularly in public hospitals, have been the consequences of such reforms [ 33 , 60 ]. Another major contributing factor to low QWL and job dissatisfaction are poor healthcare management and support, inattention to the needs of nurses and requests by relevant organizations, high job stress, job insecurity, lack of involvement in decision making, and unfair promotion policies [ 6 , 61 , 62 ].…”

Effectiveness of nurse‐led counselling and education on self‐efficacy of patients with acute coronary syndrome: A randomized controlled trial

“…However, this change in the care plan of ACS patients would need a higher nurse-patient ratio and special training for cardiac department nurses. Nevertheless, we are aware that huge nursing and resource shortages, which are particularly high in developing countries such as Iran (Nasirizad Moghadam et al, 2021;Shamsi & Peyravi, 2020), could prevent applying such nurse-led counselling and education programmes. Therefore, it is recommended that healthcare organizations use a critical approach and analyse the costs and benefits when deciding on the necessary arrangements for the implementation of such programmes to improve the quality of patient care.…”