Nurses ; Occupational stress ; Mental health ; Review
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review intervention programs for experienced nurses’ job stress and mental
health. Methods: Searches of literature were conducted through four electronic databases (RISS, KISS, PubMed,
and CINAHL), focusing on the recent 5-year publications in English or Korean. Thirteen studies were selected for
the final analysis and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network checklist was used to assess methodological rigor
and quality. Results: Randomized controlled trials were used in five studies and quasi-experimental designs in eight
studies. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and group approach were the most frequent types of interventions in
six and nine studies respectively. On average, the intervention was required for eight weeks and 60~120 minutes
per session. After evaluating the effects of CBT, complementary alternative therapy, informative training, simulation
training and stimuli control, most of the tested interventions reduced experienced nurses’ job stress and improved
mental health, but informative training did not. Conclusion: Despite the obvious importance of experienced nurses
in quality of nursing care, it has not been well studied due to limited numbers of studies with less rigorous design.
Study findings provide a basis for developing intervention programs to reduce job stress and improve mental health
for experienced nurses.