Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress among nurses in a teaching institute in South India

Introduction: Nurses are constantly exposed to physical and mental stress due to the nature of their job. Estimating the prevalence and the factors associated with psychological distress among nurses is crucial to devise health promotion strategies. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and its associated factors among nurses working in a teaching institute in Puducherry. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1217 nursing employees aged between 21 and 60 years from May 2019 to April 2020. We assessed psychological distress by using a self-administered general health questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Participants having a GHQ-12 score of ≥ 3 were considered to have psychological distress. Chi-squared test and adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) were used to determine the factors associated with psychological distress. Results: The response rate was 99% (1217/1229), and the majority 943 (77.5%) were women. The mean (SD) GHQ-12 score among nurses was 1.88 (2.6). More than one-fourth of nurses, that is, 27.2% (95% CI: 24.8-29.7) had psychological distress. Psychological distress was significantly higher among women (aPR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.14), those having less than ten years of work experience (aPR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.00-1.18), those with poor sleep quality (aPR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.22-1.35), and those having severe to dangerous level of workplace stress (aPR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.17-1.39). Conclusion: We report a high prevalence of psychological distress among nurses, especially among women, those having poor sleep quality, and those having severe to dangerous level of workplace stress. We highlight that reducing workplace stress and improving sleep hygiene can be vital in improving mental health status.