Work stress and risk factors in the nursing profession at two hospitals in Kuantan

Authors

  • Fatin Najihah Mislin Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuh Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia , Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah image/svg+xml
  • Nor Ashikin Sopian Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuh Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia , Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah image/svg+xml
  • Nurliyana Moh Hussin Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuh Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia , Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah image/svg+xml https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5329-5314
  • Nurul Ainun Hamzah Environmental and Occupational Health Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia , University of Science Malaysia image/svg+xml
  • Wan Zaiton Wan Sulaiman Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Lebuh Persiaran Tun Khalil Yaakob, 26300 Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia , Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah image/svg+xml https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6825-5286

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15282/cst.v6i1.12962

Keywords:

Nursing Profession, Work Stress, Workload

Abstract

This study aims to determine the risk factors that influence work stress among nurses at two hospitals in Kuantan, Pahang, using a validated questionnaire. The findings of this research would serve as a guideline to propose a better strategy to help nurses cope with stress at the workplace. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the hospitals to examine work stress and its associated risk factors among nurses, using a convenience sampling method. Data collection involved distributing questionnaires consisting of socio-demographics, the risk factors of work stress, and work stress. The results indicate that shift work is perceived as the primary risk factor for occupational stress among nurses, with the highest mean score (4.09), followed by workload (3.75) and the work environment (3.23). Correlation analysis shows that only the relationship between shift work and work environment is statistically significant (r = -0.411, p < 0.01), indicating that higher shift demands correlate with a low perception of the environment. On the other hand, workload (r = -0.208), work environment (r = 0.206), and shift work (r = 0.123) show non-significant, low correlations with perceived work stress in this study. This study recommends that hospital management take proactive steps to address the stress issues that currently exist by offering a variety of suitable supports that would include techniques of handling stress at work.

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Published

2026-09-01

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Section

Research Articles

How to Cite

[1]
F. N. Mislin, N. A. Sopian, N. Moh Hussin, N. A. Hamzah, and W. Z. Wan Sulaiman, “Work stress and risk factors in the nursing profession at two hospitals in Kuantan”, Curr. Sci. Technol., vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 23–28, Sep. 2026, doi: 10.15282/cst.v6i1.12962.