title: Nurse practitioner job content and stress effects on anxiety and depressive symptoms, and self-perceived health status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We explored the impact of job content and stress on anxiety, depressive symptoms and self-perceived health status among nurse practitioners (NPs).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Taiwan's NP roles vary between hospitals as a result of the diverse demands and complex tasks that cause job-related stress, potentially affecting the health of the NP.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study utilised a cross-sectional descriptive design with 161 NPs from regional hospitals participating. Data collection involved demographics, the Taiwan Nurse Stress Checklist, the Job Content Questionnaire, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, a General Health Status Checklist and salivary cortisol tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NPs reported moderate job stress, similar job control to nurses, mild anxiety and depression, and below-average self-perceived health. Being a licensed NP, personal response, competence, and incompleteness of the personal arrangements subscales of job stress, and anxiety predicted self-perceived health after adjusting for other covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Job stress and anxiety affect NP health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NPs are a valuable resource, and the healthcare system demand is growing. Reasonable NP staffing, working hours, proper promotion systems, the causes of job stress, job content clarification and practical work shift scheduling need to be considered. The occupational safety and physical and psychological health of NPs are strongly associated with the quality of patient care.
authors.affiliation: Plastics Department, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chin-Huang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Plastics Department, Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Cheng-San
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.|Nursing Department, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jun-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D012649:Self Concept; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Taiwan; anxiety; depressive symptoms; job content; job stress; nurse practitioner; self-perceived health status