OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND BURNOUT AMONG THE NURSES OF MEGHALAYA

Stress and stress-related illness are becoming increasingly large disorder among nurses. The exposure to long-term stress has a severe problem on the nurse's well-being, quality of care, patient safety, as well as for organizations in terms of absenteeism and turnover. The West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya is anguished from a severe shortage of manpower coupled with poor infrastructure and lack of technology. The problem was exacerbated by the region’s remoteness and a difficult regulatory climate that discourages private sector participation in the sector. All these circumstances make the situation a stressful situation for healthcare professionals practicing in the district. Under this backdrop, the present study intends to investigate the level of job stress and burnout among nurses in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. The study was done on the nurses 84 nurses employed in government in the district. The data was collected using job stress scale by Shukla & Srivastava (2016) and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) by Demerouti, Bakker, Vardakou, &Kantas, 2003. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation, multiple regressions. The study concluded that there exists a significant and positive correlation among the dimensions of Occupational stress and burnout and occupational stress is a strong predictor of burnout. Occupational stress and burnout are also prevalent among nurses working in government hospitals in West Garo Hills District of Meghalaya.