Investigating the impact of virtual stress management education on the occupational stress of healthcare providers in Bushehr City: An application of self-efficacy theory

Healthcare workers, who work at the frontline of providing health services, are at risk of occupational stress due to several conditions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effects of virtual training based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory on occupational stress of healthcare workers in Bushehr, Iran.

This semi-experimental study was conducted on 63 healthcare workers in Bushehr city in 10 comprehensive healthcare centers randomly selected as intervention and control centers (n=5 each). The intervention group received four sessions of virtual training based on self-efficacy theory in the form of a webinar, while the control group received no training. The information of the studied subjects was collected using a questionnaire consisting of four sections, namely demographic information assessment, self-efficacy assessment, and occupational stress assessment before, two weeks, and one month after the educational intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 24.

In general, knowledge and self-efficacy increased in the intervention group after training, and changes in knowledge and self-efficacy were significantly different between the two groups during the study period (P<0.001). In the intervention group, occupational stress improved two weeks and one month after training, compared to the pre-training period, whereas in the control group, although the changes were significant, these changes manifested as an increase in stress intensity. There was a significant difference in occupational stress changes between the two groups during the study period (P<0.001), and the condition improved in the intervention group.

The results of this study suggested that virtual stress management education based on self-efficacy theory could increase knowledge levels and self-efficacy and improve occupational stress in healthcare workers.