title: Psychological distress among nurses caring for victims of war in Sri Lanka.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among nurses caring for war victims in Sri Lanka.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used to collect data from 241 nurses from 2 hospitals with stratified random sampling according to workstation. Self-administered 30-item General Health Questionnaire was used to detect psychological distress.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of psychological distress was 21%. Female sex was found to be the most significant predictor of psychological distress among nurses. Factors, such as being married, having children, or both, were found to be protective. High exposure to war victims, measured by the frequency with which a nurse tended to those patients, also resulted in less psychological distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of psychological distress is higheramong nurses in this study compared with that among the general population. Brief screening instruments, such as the General Health Questionnaire, can be used to identify individuals at risk for psychological distress. Results suggest that the presence of a social support network helped to psychologically buffer these nurses. Findings also imply the importance of promoting positive attitudes and beneficial stress (eustress) to complement a well-developed focus on distress prevention.
authors: Department of Applied Health Science, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Indiana University.
authors: Wasantha
authors: W
authors: Jayawardene
authors: Department of Applied Health Science, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Indiana University.
authors: Ahmed
authors: A
authors: Youssefagha
authors: Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health and Information Sciences, University of Louisville.
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: LaJoie
authors: Department of Applied Health Science, School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Indiana University.
authors: Mohammad
authors: M
authors: Torabi