Fatigue and social support in nursing staff of hospitals in the Athens region

OBJECTIVE Investigation of the levels of fatigue and social support in nursing staff working in hospital emergency departments (EDs), according to their educational category (university, technological education, nursing assistant). METHOD A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted with 62 nurses working in the EDs of public general hospitals in the broader area of Athens. The participants completed the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) for evaluating perceived fatigue and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) for evaluating the perceived social support from three sources; family, friends, and significant others. RESULTS The average age of the participants was 42.55 years, while their mean total work experience was 18.78 years, and experience in the ED 9.46 years. The number of hours of work per week reported by the nurses was 40.3. The mean FAS score was 26.61 +/- 5.09, and the mean MSP55 score was 5.54 +/- 1.18. Statistically significant negative correlation was demonstrated between social support from "friends" and both the Total Fatigue score (r =-0.276, p=0.031) and the Mental Fatigue score (r=-0.334, p=0.009). Statistically significant difference in the Total Fatigue score was demonstrated between nursing categories (p=0.033), with nursing assistants showing the highest score (37.14), compared with nurses who had received technological or university education. CONCLUSIONS The level of fatigue reported by nurses working in EDs in Athens hospitals was shown to be dependent on their educational level. A close relationship was observed between fatigue in nurses and their reported social support, particularly from friends.