title: The impact of work related trauma on the psychological health of nursing staff: a cross sectional study.
abstract: This study aims to investigate the effects of work-related trauma exposure on the health of nursing staff in hospitals. The survey was conducted using a randomised sample of 314 nurses. Half (52.2%, n = 189) of staff surveyed had multiple exposures to different kinds of trauma. Results on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Beck's Depression Inventory--Revised (BDI-R) suggested that nearly 40% of staff experienced poor health, while nearly 10% experienced moderate to severe depression. Results of the logistic analyses, after adjusting for confounders, suggested that high and long term trauma exposure is detrimental to the mental health of nurses. These findings indicate that hospital nursing staff, in particular those who have high exposure to trauma, are in urgent need of support services such as debriefing and counselling.
authors.affiliation: Trauma Research Unit, New Children's Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: F I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Cass
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quine
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lazarus
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*