1. What is the rationale of your chosen problem?

Occupational stress in nursing is considered a global problem. Nursing is a difficult

and demanding profession. Occupational stress among nurses, on the other hand, has gotten
little attention. In the Philippines, work-related stress has received minimal attention. There
have only been a few studies on stress (Dayrit & Jabonete, 2017). Few studies have been
conducted on the occupational stress experienced by nurses, who confront several problems
that contribute to their difficulties in the hospital setting. According to the 2017 study,
Reported Work-related Stressors among Staff Nurses in Metro Manila, Philippines,
international and local literatures revealed significant levels of work-related stress. There was
few research on stress from the perspective of nurses in the Philippines. Work-related stress
is still underappreciated and neglected. This study will shed light on the challenges of being a
nurse and the strategies that they are using to cope with these challenges. This study will
acknowledge the occupational stress of nurses that is not seen by most people and will inform
them to the true sufferings of a person who is in nursing profession.

2. Describe the setting where your study is to be conducted?

This study will be conducted in the hospitals in La Union. Nurses will be interviewed
face-to-face and will be audio taped with their consent. Questionnaires will be used to garner
different information. The questionnaires will contain questions associated with the three (3)
sub-problems mentioned. The questions will be properly constructed, minding if it will
offend the respondents.
3. What are the terms or variables that need to be defined, clarified, or describe to
you and your reader?

The terms that need to be considered in this study is the participant being a professional
nurse with several years of service in the hospital. The stress that they will be sharing is
merely due to their work only and the strategies that they are using to handle their stressful
situations.

4. Look for related literature that define the main concepts of your study?

Occupational stress is a prevalent concern among health-care employees. Individuals and

organizations suffered as a result. Individual consequences include job dissatisfaction, lower
motivation, insomnia, psychological distress, depression, anxiousness, aggressiveness, loss of
self-confidence, loss of concentration, cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, and high
blood glucose levels, while organizational consequences include increased organizational
costs and failure to meet organizational goals. Furthermore, employee absence and turnover
affect the quality of health care and client satisfaction. (Anand, 2018)

Job stress among nurses is a global challenge. Research performed in the United
States reported that 93% of nurses had high levels of stress (Bardhan et al., 2019). A study
conducted in China revealed that 68.3% of nurses experienced severe occupational stress.
Research in Iran found that most nurses (63.47%) experienced stress. In Saudi Arabia, 34.7%
of nurses experience work-related stress.7 A study in Slovenia found that the incidence of
occupational stress was 56.5%. According to a Botswana survey, a larger percentage (74%)
of nurses have ever encountered occupational stress. Because of a nursing shortage, the
workload among Ethiopian nurses was extremely heavy. Various studies in Ethiopia
indicated that the the degree of work-related stress among nurses ranged from 37.8% to
66.2%. (Baye et al., 2020)

5. Determine how serious your problem is. Show statistical evidence of its gravity.

Several research conducted across the worldwide have revealed that occupational
stress is common in the nursing profession. According to Saini et al. (2011), 92% of nurses in
their survey experienced moderate stress, whereas 8% had severe levels of stress. Similarly,
Jahromi et al (2014) discovered that most nurses (76.41%) had moderate levels of stress.
Makie (2006) stressed the importance of stress and coping among registered nurses working
in a South African tertiary hospital, revealing a high instance of reported stress that he
recognized was severe. Workload was the most stressful element for nurses in China,
followed by the nature of nursing job, family, nurses' expectations, interpersonal
relationships, and patient interaction. Because registered nurses are in short supply in China,
this can significantly increase each nurse's daily workload. As a result, nurses may become
more exhausted and receive less support from their colleagues (Liu & Aungsuroch, 2019).

Reader's Digest and Nielsen Media Research conducted the first Asia Health Survey,
which included 24,000 Asians from the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore,
Taiwan, and Thailand. It was shown that Filipinos were the most stressed-out individuals,
with more than two out of every five Filipinos (43%) reporting being impacted by stress,
contradicting the assumption that Filipinos are the most laid-back in Asia.

6. What is the overall purpose of the study?

 This study will determine the occupational stresses encountered among hospital
nurses in La Union. Likewise, it seeks to define the coping practices of nurses with this
occupational stress. This is a great help for nurses maintain providing quality health care to
their patients. This will serve as their guide to lessen the stress that they will encounter. This
study may serve as a reference for upcoming research that relates to the said topic. It can also
be their source of additional information to be included in their review of related literature of
their study to support their claims and such. In addition, this study is open for development or
improvement.

7. The students will formulate the statement of the problems part of their study

This study aims to determine the occupational stress and coping practices among Hospital
Nurses in La Union.
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the different occupational stresses encountered among hospital
nurses in La Union?
2. What strategies to the nurses use to cope with these stressful situations?
3. What can be proposed based on the result of the study?
OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND COPING MANAGEMENT OF STAFF NURSES IN
LORMA MEDICAL CENTER

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the occupational stress and coping practices among staff
nurses in Lorma Medical Center.
Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are the different occupational stresses encountered among the staff nurses in
Lorma Medical Center?
2. How does this occupational stress affect their performance in providing quality
healthcare?
3. What strategies do the nurses use to cope with these stressful situations?
4. What can be proposed based on the result of the study?

Significance of the Study

This study will determine the occupational stresses encountered among staff nurses in
Lorma Medical Center. Likewise, it seeks to define the coping practices of nurses with this
occupational stress. This is a great help for nurses maintain providing quality health care to
their patients. This will serve as their guide to lessen the stress that they will encounter. This
study may serve as a reference for upcoming research that relates to the said topic. It can also
be their source of additional information to be included in their review of related literature of
their study to support their claims and such. In addition, this study is open for development or
improvement.