title: Anxiety levels and related symptoms in emergency nursing personnel in Greece.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies provide evidence for the association between work stress and mild psychiatric morbidity among emergency nurses. These symptoms have not been explored in Greek nursing personnel employed in emergency departments. The aim of this descriptive correlational study was to investigate the presence of anxiety and stress symptoms among emergency nursing personnel in Greece.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was composed of nursing personnel employed in emergency departments of 8 adult General hospitals in Greece (N = 213). The Hamilton Anxiety Scale was applied for the quantitative assessment of anxiety symptoms, along with demographic, vocational, and educational data. Descriptive statistics were explored, and nonparametric comparisons, as well as correlational tests, were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anxiety levels were found to be mild (1.102 ± 0.53), with women (P = .021, Mann-Whitney U test) and nursing personnel employed in public sector hospitals (P = .029, Mann-Whitney U test) having higher anxiety level scores. In addition, a statistically significant mild correlation was observed between work experience in the emergency department and anxiety states (τ = 0.178, P = .011). The most commonly reported manifestations of mild psychiatric symptomatology were sleep disturbances (2.32 ± 1.2), anxious mood (1.57 ± 1.1), and depressed mood (2.38 ± 1.2), with 24.8% of the participants reporting very severe sleep disturbance, 23.9% reporting very severe depressive mood, and 10.7% reporting very severe anxious mood.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hospital administrators need to be aware of the extent of workplace stress and subsequent anxiety symptoms that exist in emergency nurses. Staff counseling, continuing professional education, and empowerment strategies may need to be implemented to prevent psychiatric morbidity, as well as job dissatisfaction and resignations.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Tzanio General Hospital of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece. harastathopoulou@gmail.com
authors.forename: Hariklia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stathopoulou
authors.forename: Maria N K
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Karanikola
authors.forename: Fotini
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panagiotopoulou
authors.forename: Elizabeth D E
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Papathanassoglou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology