title: Sources of stress experienced by occupational therapists and social workers in mental health settings.
abstract: This study examined the sources of stress experienced by occupational therapists and social workers employed in Australian public mental health services and identified the demographic and work-related factors related to stress using a cross-sectional survey design. Participants provided demographic and work-related information and completed the Mental Health Professionals Stress Scale. The overall response rate to the survey was 76.6%, consisting of 196 occupational therapists and 108 social workers. Results indicated that lack of resources, relationships and conflicts with other professionals, workload, and professional self-doubt were correlated with increased stress. Working in case management was associated with stress caused by client-related difficulties, lack of resources, and professional self-doubt. The results of this study suggest that Australian occupational therapists and social workers experience stress, with social workers reporting slightly more overall stress than occupational therapists.
authors.affiliation: Division of Occupational Therapy, University of Queensland, Australia. c.lloyd@shrs.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Kryss
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D016272:Occupational Health; D011793:Queensland; D012947:Social Work; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D016526:Workload