Occupational Stress in Hospital and Healthcare Workers: Causes, Consequences, and Interventions – A Comprehensive Review

Occupational stress among hospital and healthcare workers is a growing global challenge that affects employees’ physical and psychological well-being and can compromise the quality of patient care. Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, physicians, technicians, and emergency staff, are exposed to heavy workloads, long shifts, patient suffering and death, limited resources, and inadequate social support, leading to high stress levels. Research shows that stress and burnout prevalence among healthcare workers can reach up to ۷۰%, resulting in reduced care quality, increased absenteeism and turnover, and various physical and mental health problems (PMC, ۲۰۲۱). Occupational stress can cause burnout, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, reduced job satisfaction, cognitive impairments, and patient safety concerns. Major contributing factors include excessive workload, imbalance between job demands and available resources, inefficient shift scheduling, lack of organizational support, and structural challenges in the workplace (PMID: ۲۰۲۱; MDPI, ۲۰۲۱). Effective interventions at individual and organizational levels, such as stress management training, cognitive-behavioral approaches, structured rest breaks, improved working conditions, and strengthened social support systems, have been shown to reduce stress, enhance job satisfaction, and improve healthcare service delivery (PMC, ۲۰۲۱).

کلیدواژه ها:

Occupational Stress ، Healthcare Workers ، Stress Management ، Patient Safety ، Burnout ، Shift Work and Stress