ASSESSMENT OF MENTAL WORKLOAD IN NURSING BY USING NASA- TLX

80 percent of works in healthcare system conducted by nurses. Nursing is one of the high workload occupations. Assessments of work load in nurses who are concerned with human life are important, in order to provide effective service. The object of the current study was to determine mental work load among nurses and its effective factors. This study was a descriptive - analytic and cross-sectional one that was conducted among 120 nurses of Urmia University of Medical Sciences hospitals in 2013. In this study, we used NASA - Task load indexes (TLX) for assessment of mental workload of nurses. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and Pierson correlation analysis. The Results showed that mental needs were maximum (86/16 ± 21/24) and physical needs were minimum (55/83 ± 22/16) compared to other workload aspects. Mean mental work load score in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was maximum (82/33 ± 20/49). Between the hours of work per week, department, shift work and the number of patients per nurse with mean mental workload score, there were significant correlations. Mean mental workload score was higher among nurses, which can negatively impact the quality of care provided by nurses, therefore, implementation of effective programs to mitigate and reduce the mental load in order to enhance nurse's performance are suggested.