Screening for Psychological distress and their Determinants among Clinical nurses in Tertiary Care Teaching Institution, India: A cross-sectional Survey
Main Article Content
Keywords
GHQ-12, Psychological distress, Clinical Nurse
Abstract
Background: Nurses are continually subjected to physical and mental stress because of their employment. Estimating the prevalence of and its association with psychological distress among nurses is critical for developing health promotion initiatives. We conducted this study to investigate the incidence of psychological distress and related characteristics among nurses working in a teaching institute in Jharkhand.
Methodology: We conducted cross-sectional research involving 452 clinical nurses between December 2024 and February 2025. We examined psychological distress using a self-administered general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Participants with a GHQ-12 score > three were classified as having psychological distress. The chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the components related to psychological distress.
Results: More than one-fourth of nurses, 25.2% (95% CI: 21.3 - 29.5), had psychological distress. Psychological distress was significantly higher among age group of 26-30 years ( aPR=3.1, 95% Cl: 1.3 -7.3) those who were not doing any physical activity (aPR=2.2, 95% Cl: 1.3 -3.6), those with poor sleep quality (aPR=2.0, 95% Cl: 1.0 -3.), and those having online screen time >3 hours (aPR=3.1, 95% Cl: 1.3 -7.3).
Conclusion: We report a high prevalence of psychological distress among nurses, especially among the age group of 26-30 years, those having poor sleep quality, and those not doing physical activity and having online screen time of more than 3 hours. We highlight that reducing workplace stress and improving sleep hygiene can be vital in improving mental health status.
References
2. Neves HCC, Souza ACS, Medeiros M, Munari DB, Ribeiro LCM, Tipple AFV. Security of nursing staff and determining factors for adherence to personal protective equipment. Rev. Lat. Am. de. Enf. 2011;19(2):8.
3. Buttler R, Monsalve M, Thomas GW, Herman T, Segre AM, Polgreen PM, et al. Estimating time physicians and other health care workers spend with patients in an intensive care unit using a sensor network. Am J Med. 2018; 131:972e9–15
4. HIC Team. Growth of Nursing in India: Historical and Future Perspectives. Healthy India Chronicle; 2017. Available from: https://healthyindiachronicle.in/shri-t-dileepkumar-president-indian-nursing-council-growth-nursingindia/. [Last accessed on 2025 Jan 30].
5. Chou LP, Li CY, Hu SC. Job stress and burnout in hospital employees: Comparisons of different medical professions in a regional hospital in Taiwan. BMJ Open. 2014;4: e004185
6. Kumar A, Pore P, Gupta S, Wani A. Level of stress and its determinants among intensive care unit staff. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2016; 20:129–32
7. Huang W, Cai S, Zhou Y, Huang J, Sun X, Su Y, et al. Personality profiles and personal factors associated with psychological distress in Chinese nurses. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2021;14:1567 79. 12.
8. Dodia P, Parashar N. Shift work job stress, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among employees. Int J Indian Psychol 2020;8:1215 23
9. Squires, A., Dutton, H.J., Casales-Hernandez, M.G., Rodriguez López, J.I., Jimenez-Sanchez, J., Saldarriaga-Dixon, P. et al. A descriptive analysis of nurses’ self-reported mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international study. International Nursing Review.2025; 72: e13099
10. Kayaroganam R, Sarkar S, Satheesh S, Tamilmani S, Sivanantham P, Kar SS. Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among nurses in a teaching institute in South India. J Family Med Prim Care 2022;11:6765-71
11. Cheng, H., Yang, H., Ding, Y. & Wang, B. Nurses' mental health and patient safety: an extension of the job demands-resources model. Journal of Nursing Management.2020; 28(3): 653–663.
12. Melnyk, B.M., Orsolini, L., Tan, A., Arslanian-Engoren, C., Melkus, G.D., Dunbar-Jacob, J. et al. A National Study Links Nurses' physical and mental health to medical errors and perceived worksite wellness. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine .2018;60(2):126–131
13. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Population Council, 2010. Youth in India: Situation and Needs 2006 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Mumbai: IIPS.
14. Hankins M. The reliability of the twelve item general health questionnaire (GHQ 12) under realistic assumptions. BMC Public Health 2008;8:355.
15. Jose TT, Bhat SM.A descriptive study on psychiatric morbidity among nurses working in selected hospitals of Udupi and Mangalore districts Karnataka, India. Int J Health Med Eng 2016;10:458 62.
16. J DK, Pookala SB, Das RC. Perceived stress, psychological well being and burnout among female nurses working in government hospitals. Int J Res Med Sci 2017;2:1511 5.
17. Belay AS, Guangul MM, Asmare WN. Prevalence and associated factors of psychological distress among nurses in public hospitals, Southwest, Ethiopia: A cross sectional study design. Ethiop J Health Sci 2021;6:1247-56
18. Flint AJ, Peasley-Miklus C, Papademetriou E, Meyers BS, Mulsant BH, Rothschild AJ, Whyte EM; STOP-PD Study Group. Effect of age on the frequency of anxiety disorders in major depression with psychotic features. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010 May;18(5):404-12
19. AlAteeq DA, Aljhani S, Althiyabi I, Majzoub S. Mental health among healthcare providers during coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Saudi Arabia. J Infect Public Health. 2020 Oct;13(10):1432-1437. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.08.013. Epub 2020 Sep 10. PMID: 32933881; PMCID: PMC7834809.
20. Kaushik A, Ravikiran SR, Suprasanna K, Nayak MG, Baliga K, Acharya SD. Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Workplace Stressors among Nurses in Tertiary Health Care Settings. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2021 Jan-Mar;25(1):27-32
21. Sun Q, Ji X, Zhou W, Liu J. Sleep problems in shift nurses: A brief review and recommendations at both individual and institutional levels. J Nurs Manag. 2019;27:10–8. doi: 10.1111/jonm.. 12656
22. Scott AJ, Webb TL, Martyn-St James M, Rowse G, Weich S. Improving sleep quality leads to better mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep Med Rev. 2021;60:101556. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101556.
23. Kua Z, Hamzah F, Tan PT, Ong LJ, Tan B, Huang Z. Physical activity levels and mental health burden of healthcare workers during COVID-19 lockdown. Stress Health. 2022 Feb;38(1):171-179.
24. Wu X, Tao S, Zhang Y, Zhang S, Tao F. Low physical activity and high screen time can increase the risks of mental health problems and poor sleep quality among Chinese college students. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0119607
25. WHO Factsheet. Mental health in the workplace. 2022. Available from: https://www.who.int/teams/controlof neglected tropical diseases/yaws/diagnosis and treatment/ mental health and substances use. [Last accessed on 2025 Feb 02]
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This is an open-access journal and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike License 4.0. This licence allows users to download and share, remix, tweak and build upon the article for non-commercial purposes, so long as the original authorship is acknowledged and the new creations are licensed under identical terms.