Occupational Stress Level and the Associated Factors among Intern Radiographers in Anambra State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Background: Stress can be defined as a person's psychological and physiological response to the perception of demand and challenges. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the level and associated factors of occupational stress among intern radiographers in some selected healthcare facilities in Anambra state, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based design was adopted for this study. Thirty intern radiographers were conveniently selected. The questionnaires were administered to the participants and the completed ones were retrieved immediately. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis and the p-value was kept at 0.05. Results: A total of 100 % (n=30) of the participants experienced occupational stress in their workplaces. More than half, 56.7% (n=17) of the participants sometimes felt stressed by the number of clinical duties they carried out in a day, and 53.3% (n=16) of the participants were always pressurized to increase service delivery to patients in the department. The majority 86.7 % (n=26) perceived workload due to the shortage of radiographers as their source of stress. The majority 83.3 % (n=25) of the participants sometimes lose control of their patients' uncooperative behavior. Gender variation in relation to the level of occupational stress among intern radiographers was not significant (p=0.054). Conclusion: A good number of the participants perceived stress at their workplace to have significantly affected their job performance and overall productivity. Therefore, healthcare facilities should incorporate organizing stress management workshops into recruitment protocols, to help new employees to cope with occupational stress