Mental distress and associated factors among nurses at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es salaam

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Mental distress is a combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, and behavior that significantly affects the lifestyle of individuals in areas of self-efficacy, self-autonomy, competence, and ability to realize one’s own intellectual and emotional potential. It globally affects nearly a quarter of the population including nurses who are working at health facilities. Objectives: The current study aimed at assessing the prevalence of mental distress and associated factors among nurses at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional analytical study conducted among nurses at Muhimbili National Hospital. Data collection tools were a semi-structured questionnaire, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire –Short Form 20 to measure job satisfaction and Cut down Annoyed Guilt and Eye opener to measure use of alcohol obtain independent variables and General Health Questionnaire 12 for mental distress. Data was analyzed using computer software (SPSS-28). Descriptive statistics was used to analyze socio-demographics while a bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to establish the association between mental distress and selected factors. Principal component factor analyses were conducted to elicit psychometric properties of the GHQ 12 tool in the study population. All associated factors with a p-value of less or equal to 0.05 were used as statistical significance associations between mental distress and associated factors. Ethical approval, permission, and informed consent to conduct the study were obtained from the MUHAS (IRB), Executive Director of MNH and participants consecutively. Results: The study involved 342 participants, mainly aged 20-30 years 56.7% (n=194), mean age 31.73 (SD ±5.28) and median of 30 years. The majority were male 63.5% (n=217), married 59.4% (n=203), and enrolled nurses 51.8% (n=117) with 1-5 years of working experience 64.6% (n=221). The prevalence of mental distress among participants was 63.1% (n=342) while job satisfaction was 65.7% (n=342). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the odds of mental distress was significantly higher amongst participants who reported job dissatisfaction [AOR = 1.58, 95% CI (1.43, 1.75), p < 0.001] and who were ranked as enrolled nurses [AOR = 1.31, 95% CI (1.15, 1.49), p < 0.001]. Conclusion: The prevalence of mental distress among participants in this study sample is high and the risk associated with it is significantly increased amongst participants who reported job dissatisfaction and ranked as enrolled nurse which is the lowest cadre in nursing profession. Recommendations: There is a high need to improve mental health awareness and wellbeing amongst nurses including regular screening to identify severely affected individuals for interventions. Further research is recommended to explore additional factors associated with level of job satisfaction among nurses so as to strategize best approach to improve