Correlates of Smoking, Work Stress, and Mindful Awareness among Private Hospital Workers in Istanbul

Abstract

Background: The recent increase in workload and stress experienced by healthcare workers (HCW) is a significant global concern. Mindfulness enables one to be aware of emotions, thoughts, and present moment experiences. Objectives: The primary objective of this research is to investigate the correlates between smoking, occupational stress, and mindful awareness levels, among HCWs within the private healthcare sector. This study was conducted at a tertiary-level university-affiliated hospital in Istanbul between January – February 2023. 208 HCW participated, yielding a response rate of 20%. The participants were requested to complete a 61-item questionnaire consisting of demographics, General Work Stress Scale(GWS), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and Test to Assess the Psychological Dependence on Smoking (TAPDS). Results: Smokers had significantly higher levels of mean GWS scores than nonsmokers. The mean MAAS scores of smokers were the lowest in the group with the highest scores of psychological dependence; it was highest in the group with the lowest scores. A negative correlation was found between general work stress and mindful awareness levels and between psychological dependence on smoking and mindfulness levels. HCWs aged 45 and older had significantly lower general stress than others. Conclusion: This study showed that the general work stress levels of smoker HCWs were higher than those of nonsmokers. Mindful awareness level was the lowest in the group, with the highest scores in psychological dependence on smoking. There was a negative correlation between psychological dependence on smoking and both work stress and mindful awareness levels. This study demonstrated that high work stress and low mindful awareness levels are not only related to each other but also to high psychological dependence on smoking.

Keywords:

• Work stress
• mindful awareness
• smoking
• nicotine use disorder
• psychological dependence
• healthcare worker

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the hospital’s Institutional Review Board (decision number 2022-19/03).

Author contributions

All authors have agreed on the final version and contributed equally to the presented work.

Compliance with ethical standards

This study was approved by Bahcesehir University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (decision number 2022-19/03).

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.