A Comparison of the Effect of Work Stress on Burnout and Quality of Life Between Female Nurses and Female Doctors

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of work stress on job burnout and quality of life between female nurses and doctors in China. The participants were 947 female nurses and 685 female doctors selected from Fujian provinces by using stratified cluster sampling method. The Chinese version of Short Form-36 Health Survey was used to measure quality of life; the Occupation Stress Inventory—Revised Edition was applied for occupational stress; and the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey was used to assess job burnout. Occupational stress (indicated by different stressors) played an important role in job burnout and quality of life among female nurses and female doctors when taking into account other potential influencing factors simultaneously. These results show that it is important to adopt different preventive measures to prevent burnout and improve quality of life among the 2 populations according to the different stressors.

KEYWORDS:

• female
• job burnout
• medical professionals
• occupational stress
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the following for financial support: the National Science Foundation of China (no. 81001238) and the Program for Outstanding Young Talents of Scientific Research in University of Fujian Province, China (no. JA10124). The authors would like to thank all participating nurses and doctors who gave their time and supports.

For comments and further information, address correspondence to Huang-Yuan Li, MD, PhD, Associated Professor, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Fujian Medical University, no. 88 Jiaotong Road, Fuzhou 350004, Fujian Province, China