COMPARISON OF STRESS, JOB-SATISFACTION, PERCEPTION OF CONTROL, AND HEALTH AMONG DISTRICT NURSES IN STOCKHOLM AND PREWAR ZAGREB

The increasing number of studies of stress among nurses in the last tw o decades have mainly dealt with nurses in hospitals. A few studies ha ve included community-based nurses. However, no comparative studies of district nurses in different countries have been published. We have c onducted a study to identify sources of stress, job satisfaction, perc eived demands, control and health among district nurses (DNs) in Zagre b (Croatia) and Stockholm (Sweden), working in a polyvalent health car e organization. Data were obtained regarding altogether 305 district n urses by means of self- administered questionnaires using identical me thods and items, with response rates between 88% and 95%. In general, district nurses reported high levels of job-related stress, satisfacti on and control. Organizational sources of stress, such as ongoing chan ges in the primary care organization, and reorganization of tasks, wer e of importance for the district nurses in Stockholm. They reported al so more job satisfaction and commitment than the district nurses in Za greb. The district nurses in Zagreb had significantly higher level of ''lack of resources''. They displayed significantly higher scores of p sychological demands but also a greater feeling of control than the di strict nurses in Stockholm. Significant differences were also found be tween the groups in ranking of self-reported stressors. Thus results s how that differences in work organization and in essential resources h ave a substantial impact of perceived stress, job satisfaction, and on the generality both of single association and on the applications of models.