The Relationship Between Professional Autonomy and Job Stress Among Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Descriptive Correlational Study

© 2022 Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 119
Introduction
Nurses working in the Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) must be responsible for their decisions
in caring for patients in critical conditions.
The key tool for the professional nurse to
make the right decisions is professional
autonomy.[1,2] Nurses with professional
autonomy have the power to make
decisions about their patients’ needs and
implement such decisions.[3] Professional
autonomy enables nurses to make proper
decisions to establish and preserve patient
safety, improve the quality of care, keep
nurses in their profession, and ensure
job satisfaction.[2,4] The nurses who are
working with low professional autonomy
and low‑level decision‑making authority
might experience a variety of unpleasant
personal and professional feelings such
as lack of motivation,[5] dissatisfaction,[2,4]
nurses’ physical and mental issues,[4]
stress in the work environment,[6] intention
Address for correspondence:
Dr. Naser Parizad,
Nursing and Midwifery Faculty,
Campus Nazlu, 11 KM Road
Seru, Urmia, West Azerbaijan,
Iran.
E-mail: nparizad@gmail.com
Access this article online
Website: www.ijnmrjournal.net
DOI: 10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_375_20
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Abstract
Background: Autonomy is an essential factor in the nursing profession. Nurses’ autonomy can
improve care quality, decrease mortality in patients, and attenuate job stress. This study aimed to
investigate professional autonomy and its relationship with job stress among nurses working in
Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Materials and Methods: This descriptive correlational study was
conducted at Urmia nursing school in Iran in 2020. Three hundred ninety‑eight nurses working at
the ICUs entered the study. Data was collected using the Dempster Practice Behavior Scale (DPBS)
and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) questionnaire. Independent t‑test and analysis of
variance (ANOVA) were used to examine the relationship between demographics and study variables.
Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between professional
autonomy and job stress of nurses. Results: The mean (SD) of total professional autonomy and job
stress score of nurses was, respectively, 102. 11(91. 88), and 115. 53(12. 42), indicating moderate
autonomy and job stress. Professional autonomy had a significant positive correlation with job
stress (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). It also had a significant positive correlation with work experience
in ICU (r = 0.12, p = 0.014). Conclusions: ICU nurses have moderate autonomy and job stress,
and their autonomy is a significant positive predictor of their job stress. University authorities are
recommended to develop practical strategies to enhance nurses’ autonomy and eliminate factors that
cause job stress in ICU nurses in order to preserve nurses’ health, improve the quality of nursing
care, and increase patient safety