Background and Objectives: The use of modern and technology-based educational methods can play a significant role in enhancing nurses' capabilities in stress management and improving their responses to stressful situations. Therefore, this study aims to determine the impact of stress management on the stress responses of nurses working in pediatric departments of educational hospitals affiliated Iran University of Medical Sciences through a multimedia software intervention.
Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, a random sampling method was employed to select 102 nurses (51 individuals in the intervention group and 51 in the control group) working in general hospital departments. The inclusion criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of stress management training on the stress responses of nurses included having at least a bachelor’s degree, a minimum of 6 months of work experience in pediatric wards, no reported psychological disorders, and no use of psychiatric medications based on self-reports. Additionally, participants were required to have access to a computer capable of running DVDs and familiarity with its operation, with no prior experience or readiness to participate in a stress management workshop within the last 6 months. Conversely, the exclusion criteria were participant dissatisfaction, change of department, and hospital relocation. This assessment is shared in improving the skills and response to the stress of nurses in pediatric department of medical centers. To measure the stress responses, the Inventory Response Stress questionnaire was utilized, which was completed by both groups prior to the intervention. Subsequently, the educational content regarding stress management was provided to the intervention group for duration of 8 weeks. At the end of the eighth week, both groups completed the stress response questionnaire again. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 22 software, with statistical tests including Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Results: No significant difference was observed in the mean of stress response in the intervention (29.69 ± 23.66) and control (33.20 ± 27.95) groups before the intervention (p = 0.661). The average stress response score in the intervention group (19.65 ± 16.74) was significantly lower than the control group (32.67 ± 28.17) after the intervention (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: These data demonstrated the positive effect of the stress management program on nurses' stress response who participated in this study.
