Work-Related Stress And Hypertension Among Nurses At Ridge Hospital, Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT Background: Hypertension is fast becoming a global public health issue especially in developing countries. However, very little is known about the disease and its associated risk factors in Ghana particularly among nurses. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between workrelated stress and hypertension among nurses at Ridge Regional Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Methods: Participants of this cross-sectional study included 208 nurses randomly selected from six (6) departments at Ridge hospital. Of this, 200 nurses (representing 96.2%) were eligible and consented to participate in the study. Data was collected between May and June, 2015. The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) was adapted to measure work-related stress while blood pressure was measured with a digital sphygmomanometer at least twice with a 5 minutes resting time and hypertension was defined according to the guideline of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Results: The mean age of nurses was 33 years. The prevalence of work-related stress was 68% while the prevalence of hypertension was 19.5% at Ridge hospital, Accra. Sixtynine and half percent of nurses were aware of their hypertension status. Approximately ninety percent of hypertensive nurses were seen among nurses with high job strain. The crude relative risk in the association between high job strain (work-related stress) and hypertension in this study was 4.12 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.53, 11.10). Upon adjusting for age, marital status, rank, body mass index, physical activity, family history of hypertension, smoking and alcohol consumption, the adjusted relative risk was 5.57(95% CI: 2.25, 13.76). Conclusion: A significant number of nurses reported experiencing high job strain and perceived work-related stress was found to be significantly associated with hypertension. It is specifically possible that work-related stress is a contributory factor to the presence of hypertension among nurses at Ridge hospital, Accra.