Date of Award

Fall 12-8-2022

Degree Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Committee Chair

Dr. Carolyn Coleman

Committee Chair School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Committee Member 2

Dr. Lisa Morgan

Committee Member 2 School

Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice

Abstract

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) has been used as a classic stress assessment instrument to evaluate perceived stress across many settings. As stress is the primary phenomenon in this review due to varying stressors, including infectious diseases among healthcare workers, the PSS is the most appropriate scale for evaluating the degree to which a health worker feels stressed. In addition, the PSS is valuable as it encompasses ten items that researchers use to explore how respondents react to stress due to unpredictable events. Thus, this DNP project is based on the postulation that screening with the PSS and applying stress interventions would reduce perceived stress among mental healthcare workers. The DNP project utilized a quasi-experimental research design by collecting data from 19 healthcare workers at baseline and after four weeks of intervention. The DNP project integrated the perceived stress scale (PSS) comprising ten items. The primary method of analysis is the paired t-test, which is ideal for collecting the DNP project’s pre-and-post data. The DNP project used stratified sampling and random assignment to the intervention group. Using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS v 25), the researcher found that the perceived stress reduced significantly after the one-month intervention with a paired t-test mean of 3.421. The pre-test and post-test results for means were 16.16 over 19.79 and a standard deviation (STD) of 6.058 and 4.936, respectively. Thus, the stress levels in the sample were reduced to a lower moderate statistic compared to the baseline mean. The paired t-test also showed a significance level of .02 with a 95% confidence (.595 and .6247) with df=18 and a t=2.544. Thus, the DNP project rejected the H0 and confirmed H1: stress reduction screening and interventions reduce perceived stress among mental healthcare workers. Healthcare workers experienced augmented stress at work, primarily due to various stressors such as COVID-19. However, stress management strategies and screening can enable health systems to make informed decisions on stress management. The DNP project has important implications for practice, such as creating organizations that allow easier leader-buy-in for rapid integration of stress management strategies.

ORCID ID

0000-0003-0175-2290

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