{"title":"Occupational Stress in United Kingdom Audiologists.","authors":"Ryan S Phillips, Gabrielle H Saunders","doi":"10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00024","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Occupational stress is known to have detrimental effects on health care professionals worldwide. This study aimed to address a research gap by investigating sources and levels of occupational stress in U.K. audiologists.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A mixed-methods cross-sectional design and convenience sampling were utilized. The study used the Audiologist Occupational Stress Questionnaire (AOSQ) and an audiological working practices questionnaire. The study included 100 registered U.K. audiologists.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The research revealed that over a third of participants reported experiencing moderate or higher levels of occupational stress. Pediatric audiologists and those with a high daily patient load reported significantly higher stress scores than other specialties and those seeing fewer patients per day. Identified sources of stress for U.K. audiologists included clinical demands and time constraints, staffing issues, leadership in the workplace, and equipment availability. Reported impacts of stress encompassed mental health issues, fatigue, social life disruptions, and physical health concerns.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The research validated the use of the AOSQ in a U.K. setting, and the findings provided insights into the sources and levels of occupational stress experienced by U.K. audiologists, supporting existing research on occupational stress in audiologists in other countries. The identification of consistent stress themes across the literature underscores the need for targeted support and interventions to ensure the well-being of audiologists and empower them in maintaining their pivotal role in health care.</p>","PeriodicalId":49241,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Audiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Journal of Audiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_AJA-24-00024","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/7/4 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: Occupational stress is known to have detrimental effects on health care professionals worldwide. This study aimed to address a research gap by investigating sources and levels of occupational stress in U.K. audiologists.
Method: A mixed-methods cross-sectional design and convenience sampling were utilized. The study used the Audiologist Occupational Stress Questionnaire (AOSQ) and an audiological working practices questionnaire. The study included 100 registered U.K. audiologists.
Results: The research revealed that over a third of participants reported experiencing moderate or higher levels of occupational stress. Pediatric audiologists and those with a high daily patient load reported significantly higher stress scores than other specialties and those seeing fewer patients per day. Identified sources of stress for U.K. audiologists included clinical demands and time constraints, staffing issues, leadership in the workplace, and equipment availability. Reported impacts of stress encompassed mental health issues, fatigue, social life disruptions, and physical health concerns.
Conclusions: The research validated the use of the AOSQ in a U.K. setting, and the findings provided insights into the sources and levels of occupational stress experienced by U.K. audiologists, supporting existing research on occupational stress in audiologists in other countries. The identification of consistent stress themes across the literature underscores the need for targeted support and interventions to ensure the well-being of audiologists and empower them in maintaining their pivotal role in health care.
期刊介绍:
Mission: AJA publishes peer-reviewed research and other scholarly articles pertaining to clinical audiology methods and issues, and serves as an outlet for discussion of related professional and educational issues and ideas. The journal is an international outlet for research on clinical research pertaining to screening, diagnosis, management and outcomes of hearing and balance disorders as well as the etiologies and characteristics of these disorders. The clinical orientation of the journal allows for the publication of reports on audiology as implemented nationally and internationally, including novel clinical procedures, approaches, and cases. AJA seeks to advance evidence-based practice by disseminating the results of new studies as well as providing a forum for critical reviews and meta-analyses of previously published work.
Scope: The broad field of clinical audiology, including audiologic/aural rehabilitation; balance and balance disorders; cultural and linguistic diversity; detection, diagnosis, prevention, habilitation, rehabilitation, and monitoring of hearing loss; hearing aids, cochlear implants, and hearing-assistive technology; hearing disorders; lifespan perspectives on auditory function; speech perception; and tinnitus.