[Validity of a job stressors measurement scale in nursing staff: the nursing stress scale]

BACKGROUND

The aim of this work was to determine the reliability and construct validity of a scale intended to measure job stressors to which hospital nursing staff may be exposed.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

The nursing stress scale contains 34 stressors. The scale's trans-cultural adaptation was carried out by means of the translation-back translation method. Validation was conducted on a random sample of 201 health professionals in a public hospital in Valencia. The reliability of the scale was assessed after its readministration on a sub-sample of 30 nursing professionals, with a 15 day interval. The construct validity was obtained through the correlation of the scale with another two scales: The 28 item version of Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire and 7 dimensions of the Health questionnaire SF-36.

RESULTS

The scale in Spanish language contains 34 items after eliminating the first item from the original scale (N1: computer failure) and including a new item (E1: Frequent job interruptions). The distribution of scores obtained in the initial administration of the scale and fifteen days later do not differ statistically. The Cronbach's alfa coefficient is 0.92 for the total scale and in each of the sub-scales ranges between 0. 83 and 0.49. The correlation between the scale and the GHQ-28 items questionnaire is 0.34. For each one of the seven dimensions of the SF-36 questionnaire the correlations range between -0.21 and -0.31.

CONCLUSION

The nursing stress scale is a useful instrument for measuring possible stressors in this collective. It has high internal consistency and construct validity, as does the original American version, however reliability is moderate.

Who quits smoking during pregnancy?

The aim of this paper is to investigate the distribution of smoking cessation during pregnancy in relation to sociodemographic and professional characteristics. The study population are, primiparous or secundiparous women who gave birth in a large public hospital in the city of Valencia (Spain) and who have carried out paid work during pregnancy. A sample of 593 women were personally interviewed in the maternity hospital. A simple analysis was carried out on the data subsequently adjusting a logistic regression model. Sixty-two per cent of the women smoked before pregnancy. Of them, 28% gave up smoking during pregnancy. Giving up smoking during pregnancy is more common among women of between 26-30 years of age (ORadjusted = 2.1), those with secondary level of education (ORadjusted = 2.6) and among those for whom daily cigarette intake before pregnancy was between 1-9 cigarettes (ORadjusted = 12.3) or between 10-19 (ORadjusted = 2.7). The modification of smoking during pregnancy requires interventions prior to and throughout the course of pregnancy which should be aimed at risk groups such as younger women, those less educated and heavy smokers.

[Maternity protection legislation: a tool for promoting mother-child health]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the legislation existing in Spain on the protection of women in paid work after giving birth.

SETTING

Spanish legislation was reviewed and the following aspects examined: time off for childbirth, leave to care for children, hours for breast-feeding, reduction in the working day for the care of small children and time off because of children being ill.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Time off for childbirth is 16 weeks, of which 6 must be after the birth. If both parents work, the father can opt for the last 4 weeks. The amount paid is 100% of the regulated basic wage and will be paid directly by the relevant managing body. Both workers under the general regimen and those under special regimens can receive this benefit. Workers in normal employment can have unpaid leave for a period of up to three years. Other measures are the daily period of one hour for breast-feeding a child under 9 months, the reduction in the working day by between a third and a maximum of half its length to care for children under 6 and the possibility of being away from work for two days because of a child's serious illness.

CONCLUSIONS

The existence of specific legislation protecting maternity is an important, though insufficient, step towards guaranteeing equal opportunities for men and women in the labour market. Specially noteworthy is the reconciliation of paid work and family responsibilities.

Shiftwork: its impact on the length and quality of sleep among nurses of the Valencian region in Spain

Previous research has shown the repercussions of shiftwork for workers' sleep. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the impact of shiftwork on the length and quality of sleep among nurses and on the intake of psychotropic drugs. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in 606 female nurses and 367 male nurses selected at random from the public hospitals in the Valencian region. Information was collected by means of a questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis techniques were used. For both female and male nurses, shiftwork led to a reduction in the length of sleep (by 2 h in those permanently on night shifts and by 30 min in those on a rotating night shift system) and an alteration in the quality of sleep (difficulty in sleeping, intermittent sleep, early waking, etc. occurred 10% more frequently), but it did not lead to an increase in the consumption of psychotropic drugs.