| Abstract | Koronavirusna bolest je vrlo teška zarazna bolest uzrokovana akutnim respiratornim koronavirusom 2 koji se neumoljivo širi s čovjeka na čovjeka. COVID-19 pandemija za većinu ljudi predstavlja stress iz različitih razloga. Počevši od periodične nestašice medicinske zaštitne opreme do pojave neizvjesnosti i straha u populaciji širom svijeta. Pandemija je preokrenula cijeli zdravstveni sustav naglavačke, pa su samim time zdravstveni djelatnici postavljeni na čelo borbe protiv COVID-19 infekcije. Obzirom da su medicinske sestre/tehničari na prvoj liniji obrane, njihov je zadatak zaprimiti i neumorno se brinuti o suspektim i potvrđenim slučajevima virusa. Radi iznimne odgovornosti u radu s ljudskim životima, smjenski rad, 24-satna dežurstva, odgovornost pri donošenju brzih odluka, kontakti s obiteljima i emocionalno iscrpljivanje uvelike povećavaju sklonost nastanku i razvoju psihosomatskih bolesti. Osim navedenoga, pandemija uzrokovana COVID-19 infekcijom dodatno otežava organizaciju rada i potencira stresne situacije među djelatnicima zdravstvenih ustanova. Reakcija na stres u takvoj situaciji može biti različita, a najčešči simptomi su emocionalne, kognitivne i tjelesne prirode. Utvrđeno je da je jedna od značajnih komponenti medicinskih sestrara/tehničara koje utječu na isporuku sestrinske skrbi i njege, upravo njihova osobnost i karakteristike kao pojedinca. Medicinske sestre/tehničari svakodnevno se prilagođavaju promjenjivim radnim zahtjevima i novim zadacima što iziskuje visoku razinu napora. Upravo ta razina prilagodljivosti proizlazi iz lokusa kontrole. Pojedinci koji imaju višu percepciju unutarnje moći i vjeruju u svoju sposobnost upravljanja svakodnevnim radnim zadacima i obvezama, postižu bolje rezultate. Brojna istraživanja ukazuju na to da je lokus kontrole determinanta ponašanja pa zato privlači mnogo pažnje pri istražvanju upravo sestrinstva. Profesionalni stres kod medicinskih sestara/tehničara postaje sve veći problem zbog više zadataka na poslu, nestabilnosti radnog mjesta, napora radi balansiranja radnih i obiteljskih obaveza, nedovoljno vremena za izvršavanje zadataka kao i obavljanje previše različitih zadataka pa se smatra da se dio djelatnika vrlo uspješno nosi sa stresnim situacijama, dok su drugi shrvani takvim situacijama, zbog individualnih razlika pojedinca.
Radi posebnosti situacije, provedenim istraživanjem nastojala se utvrditi razina stresa kod medicinskih sestara/tehničara te utvrditi razlike u razini stresa obzirom na radno mjesto. Istraživanje je provedeno primjenom anonimnog upitnika koji obuhvaća sociodemografske podatke, Upitnik o stresorima na radnom mjestu bolničkih zdravstvenih djelatnika M. Miloševića (2009.), Spectorovu skalu radnog lokusa kontrole A. Slišković i suradnika (2014.) te Skalu socijalne podrške na poslu i u obitelji A. Šimunić i suradnika (2016.). Da bi se napravila kvalitetna usporedba, anketirano je 136 medicinskih sestara/tehničara koji su dio COVID-19 tima te su 92 anketirana sudionika s ostalih odjela koja nisu uključivala zbrinjavanje, njegu i skrb bolesnika s COVID-19 infekcijom. Većina, točnije 133 sudionika nema više od 5 godina iskustva te najveći dio anketiranih odrađuje jutarnju, popodnevnu i noćnu smjenu. U radu su postavljene 3 hipoteze koje su nakon obrade dobivenih podataka prihvaćene. Istraživanjem je utvđena značajno povišena razina profesionalnog stresa u medicinskih sestara/tehničara koji su uključeni u zbrinjavanje i skrb za bolesnike s COVID-19 infekcijom. Najvišu razinu stresa izazvala loša organizacija posla (55,7%), bombardiranje novim informacijama iz struke (67%) te neadekvatna osobna primanja (32%). Istraživanjem je utvrđen profesionalni stres u 32,23% medicinskih sestara/tehničara te čak 31,6% sudionika smatra da je dobivanje posla koji želiš stvar sreće. Također je utvrđena značajno niža razina internalnog lokusa kontrole u sudionika koji sudjeluju u zbrinjavanju i njezi bolesnika s COVID-19 infekcijom. Uzevši u obzir da na svojim leđima nose ulogu roditelja, supružnika ali i potomka, može se zaključiti da je vrlo teško napraviti ravnotežu između posla i obitelji. S druge strane vrlo često dolazi do izoliranja od strane rodbine i prijatelja radi predrasuda i povećanog rizika od zaraze u medicinskih sestara/tehničara. Sukladno tome, utvrđena je niža razina socijalne podrške kod sudionika koji su na COVID-19 odjelima. |
| Abstract (english) | Coronavirus is a heavily infective disease caused by the acute respiratory coronavirus 2 which is inexorably transferred from one human onto the other. For the majority of people, the pandemic presents a stressful situation due to plenty of different reasons – from the periodical shortages of protective medical equipment to the uncertainty and fear all over the world. The pandemic has turned the healthcare systems upside down and has put the healthcare works on the frontline of fighting the virus. Given that nurses are the first people on the frontline, it is their task to register and take care of the suspected and confirmed cases relentlessly. Additionally, high levels of responsibility, working in shifts, being on call twenty-four hours a day, making quick decisions, keeping in contact with the families, and emotional drainage can attribute to the development of psychosomatic illnesses. Besides that, the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection also complicates the work organization and aggravates the stressful situation among the healthcare workers. In such a situation, the reactions towards stress can be different, with the most common symptoms being emotional, cognitive, and physical. It has been proved that some of the key elements regarding nurses are their personality and individual characteristics. Nurses are constantly adjusting to new working conditions and new tasks which require plenty of effort. The ability to adjust stems from the locus of control – the individuals with a higher perception of inner power and belief in managing their everyday tasks always accomplish better results. Research has shown that the locus of control is a behavioral determinant which is why it attracts a lot of attention when observing nursing. The levels of professional stress regarding nurses are rising due to a higher number of tasks at work, the work instability, the difficulties in balancing work and personal life, and the lack of time to complete the tasks, as well as working on too many tasks. Due to the individual differences, it is believed that a part of healthcare workers can manage such stressful situations successfully, while the others are overwhelmed and devastated.
Because of the specific nature of this situation, a research that explored the stress levels in nurses, especially those infected with the COVID-19, was conducted. The research was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire which included data subjects’ sociodemographic information, M. Milosevic’s questionnaire on the workplace stressors, Spector’s work locus scale, and the Social support at work and at home scale. In order to make a quality comparison, research included 136 nurses which are part of the COVID-19 team and 92 of them were from other departments which did not include nursing and care of patients with COVID-19 infection. The majority, 133 participants do not have more than 5 years of experience and most of the them do the morning, afternoon and night shifts. The paper presents 3 hypotheses that were accepted after processing the obtained data. The study found significantly elevated levels of occupational stress in nurses which are involved in the care and nursing of patients with COVID-19 infection. The highest level of stress was caused by low work organization (55.7%), bombardment with new professional informations (67%) and inadequate salary (32%). Study has determined stress in 32.23% and 31.6% of participants believe that getting the job you want is a matter of luck. A significantly lower level of internal locus of control was found in participants involved in the care and nursing of patients with COVID-19 infection. Considering that they carry the role of parents, spouses and descendants on their backs, it can be concluded that it is very difficult to strike a balance between work and family. On the other hand, isolation from relatives and friends very often occurs due to prejudice and increased risk of infection in nurses so, a lower level of social support was found among participants in COVID-19 teams. |
