title: A hospital staff support program: design and evaluation.
abstract: The literature indicates that nurses on special care units experience stress resulting from the role conflict and ambiguity to which they are exposed. Role theory predicts that such individuals will become dissatisfied with their work and will decrease their confidence in supervisors and co-workers. Consequently, it was hypothesized that a staff support program designed to assist nurses to cope with role conflict and ambiguity would result in reduced stress; increased satisfaction with work, supervision, and co-workers; and decreased staff turnover. A nine week staff support program was implemented on a hospice unit in a large, private, general hospital. The program utilized an insight-oriented approach focused on specific sources of stress combined with structured exercises designed to facilitate nurses' ability to cope with stress resulting from a role conflict and ambiguity. Data were collected from two groups to hospice nurses using a Nursing Stress Scale developed for this study, the Job Description Index, and personnel records. A quasi-experimental research design was used to assess the validity and generalizability of the results of the program. Data were analyzed in four stages: (i) pre-program levels of stress and job satisfaction were analyzed using a multivariate profile analysis; (ii) correlated t-tests were used to test for significant differences between pre- and post-program levels of stress; (iii) a repeated measures ANOVA was used to examine the effect of the program on job satisfaction; (iv) turnover among the nursing staff on four other hospital units was compared to the hospice unit. Results of the evaluation indicated that the support program was effective in reducing nursing stress, increasing job satisfaction, and decreasing staff turnover. The implications of the study for the design and evaluation of hospital staff support programs are discussed.
mesh_terms: D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003376:Counseling; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006738:Hospices; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D007196:Indiana; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control*