Investigating General Health Components and Occupation Type as Predictors of Occupational Stress in Shahid Rajaee Hospital Staff in Isfahan

Introduction and aims Occupational stress, as a factor that has harmful effects on productivity, quality of work and health of employees has been the focus of attention. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the effect of occupational stress on the general health components of therapeutic and non-therapeutic staff working in a hospital. Materials and Methods This research was a descriptive-analytic study which was conducted in a cross-sectional method during the winter of 2018. The statistical population included all employees of Shahid Rajaee Specialized Hospital in Isfahan. The sample included 100 staff who were randomly selected from among all staff. 50 staff were selected from among therapeutic staff and 50 others from non-therapeutic staff. To collect data, the Occupational Stress Questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (correlation, hierarchical regression and independent samples t-test). Results The results indicated that among the four components of general health, only increase in physical problems was the predictor of occupational stress; moreover, it was found that the staff of the therapeutic sectors, compared with the non-therapeutic sectors, experienced a higher degree of occupational stress. Conclusion Considering the negative effects of occupational stress on the employees’ physical health, although some stressors, especially organizational factors, are unavoidable for the staff of the therapeutic sectors, measures can be taken to improve the work environment.