Mental health status among Thai hospital nurses.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence of mental health disorder and its related factors among Thai nurses.


METHODS
This was cross-sectional descriptive study of 390 female nurses. They were asked to complete the questionnaire which covered personal history, working conditions, job stress and general health. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for mental health disorders.


RESULTS
Results revealed that 10.3% of the nurses had poor mental health and 41.8%, had high job stress. The factors significantly associated with poor mental health were years employed, job stress, tranquilizer use and intent to leave the profession.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses who had high job stress and more than 20 years work experience were more likely to have poor mental health. Reduction of job stress especially in senior nurses significantly promotes mental health and may decrease prevalence of intent to leave the profession and tranquilizer use.
Kaewboonchoo
Orawan
O
Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. phokb@mahidol.ac.th
Saipech
Tipagorn
T
Chandanasotthi
Pimsupa
P
Arporn
Sara
S
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D016015:Logistic Models; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D016272:Occupational Health; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011594:Psychometrics; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology