Occupational stress: An impediment to quality nurse–Patient relationship – A rapid review

Abstract

Given the complex nature of the effect of occupational stress also known as work or job stress, on the quality of nurse- patient relationship, it appears a daunting task reaching a unified definition of work stress because of the acknowledged fact that a singular approach may not be able to encompass the breadth of the phenomenon. This study aims to provide a general review of some of the challenges of stress on nurse–patient relationship, and causes of occupational stress were examined in light of the conceptual typology that portrays various sources of workplace stress and strategies in preventing occupational stress. The data for this study were from published studies. Electronic databases of Medline, Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar were searched using keywords: occupational stress, nurse- patient relationship and quality of nursing care literatures were retrieved and screened for eligibility. The date limit considered in the literature search was from 2016 to 2023 to capture only the variables identified in this study objective. Stress sources are consequentially known to produce dire organization and extra-organizational outcomes such as low morale, poor performance, career uncertainty, poor care, health problems, work-life conflict, turnover, and other reverse that undermine the competitive objectives of business. Stress curative measures are discussed to assist nurses to understand the significance of providing effective stress management interventions that can enhance employee well-being and organizational productivity.