Stress and coping strategies used by nursing interns

Abstract

Objective: to investigate the stress level of Nursing interns in hospital units and the coping strategies adopted. Method: this is a cross-sectional and quantitative
study conducted with Nursing interns working in hospital units. Data collection took place from December 2018 and July 2019 using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the instrument for the assessment of stress in Nursing students, and the adaptation to Portuguese of the Folkman and Lazarus Coping Strategies Inventory instrument. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program, version 23. Results: a total of 88 interns from eight different areas participated in this study. In the stress analysis, 56% of
the interns had less stress, and 44% more stress. There was an association between more stress and the gender variable (p-value=0.001). The interns reported more
stress in the professional communication and professional training domains. The most frequently used coping strategies were positive reappraisal, responsibility
acceptance, and social support. When adjusted by gender, a significant association was verified between more stress and the following coping strategies: confrontation (p-value=0.002), distancing (p-value=0.001), selfcontrol
(p-value=0.040), and escape-avoidance (p-value=0.019).
Conclusion: the interns presented more stress related to professional communication and professional training, and there was an association between more stress and the following coping strategies: confrontation, distancing, self-control, and escape-avoidance, when adjusted by gender. The findings signal that this issue requires attention from the training institutions and encourage a reflection
on the interns' life context, insertion scenarios, and experiences.