BACKGROUND: Job stress is common in health care professionals in the west. Less is known about its prevalence in Middle Eastern countries. AIMS: To determine job stress, its sources and its effect on health care professionals in northern Jordan. METHODS: A simple random sample of 101 physician specialists, 126 dentists, 52 general practitioners and 123 pharmacists in northern Jordan completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire, and addressed structured questions about job stress. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used to describe and compare participants, and a binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with stress and reported health problems. RESULTS: Of the 402 health care professionals, 27% reported high levels of stress. Prevalence was highest among general practitioners (33%), then dentists (30%) and pharmacists (25%). The lowest stress was among physician specialists (12%). Factors associated with the highest stress were being a general practitioner, being a woman and having long working hours. Dealing with uncooperative patients and heavy workloads were additional stressors. The most frequent problems associated with high stress were irritability (58%), consuming more arousal drinks (e.g. coffee, cola) (56%), difficulty concentrating (51%), headaches (63%), chronic back pain (48%) and common colds (47%). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to physician specialists, general practitioners, dentists and pharmacists were significantly more stressed. Reported stress was associated with job title, being a woman and long working hours. Also uncooperative patients and heavy workloads were significant problems. Being irritable and having headaches and common colds were the most frequent health issues.
BACKGROUND: Job stress is common in health care professionals in the west. Less is known about its prevalence in Middle Eastern countries. AIMS: To determine job stress, its sources and its effect on health care professionals in northern Jordan. METHODS: A simple random sample of 101 physician specialists, 126 dentists, 52 general practitioners and 123 pharmacists in northern Jordan completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire, and addressed structured questions about job stress. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were used to describe and compare participants, and a binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with stress and reported health problems. RESULTS: Of the 402 health care professionals, 27% reported high levels of stress. Prevalence was highest among general practitioners (33%), then dentists (30%) and pharmacists (25%). The lowest stress was among physician specialists (12%). Factors associated with the highest stress were being a general practitioner, being a woman and having long working hours. Dealing with uncooperative patients and heavy workloads were additional stressors. The most frequent problems associated with high stress were irritability (58%), consuming more arousal drinks (e.g. coffee, cola) (56%), difficulty concentrating (51%), headaches (63%), chronic back pain (48%) and common colds (47%). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to physician specialists, general practitioners, dentists and pharmacists were significantly more stressed. Reported stress was associated with job title, being a woman and long working hours. Also uncooperative patients and heavy workloads were significant problems. Being irritable and having headaches and common colds were the most frequent health issues.