Influence of Work Stress, Motivation and Job Hazard on Attitude of Nurses in Lagos State Public Hospitals

Abstract

While the role of nurses in the delivery of quality healthcare is enormous, literature attests to the poor attitude of many nurses in public hospitals in Nigeria, but little is known for Lagos State. Furthermore, there exist inconclusive findings on the influence of work stress, motivation, and job hazard on the attitude of nurses in Lagos State public hospitals; thus, this study. Descriptive research design was adopted; 90 nurses and 120 outpatients were selected across 3 general hospitals in Lagos East Senatorial District using stratified and volunteering sampling, respectively. Work Stress, Motivation and Job Hazard Questionnaire (r = 0.89) and Nurses’ Attitude Questionnaire (r = 0.85) were research instruments. The two formulated hypotheses were tested using multiple regression at a 0.05 significance level. Results revealed that motivation, work stress, and job hazard jointly influence (F(3, 89) = 16.282, P 0.00 < 0.05) attitude of nurses in Lagos State by 36.2%. The standardised β coefficient revealed that motivation (β = .451) positively influences nurses’ attitude by 45.1%., while work stress (β = -.343) and job hazard (β = -.057) negatively influence nurses’ attitude by -34.3% and -5.7%, respectively. The authors concluded that work stress and job hazard are major factors influencing the poor attitude of nurses in public hospitals in Lagos State. The study recommended that governments should intensify efforts to equip hospitals with modern and safety-orientated infrastructures and recruit more nurses to combat stress and job hazards to enhance positive attitudes among nurses in public hospitals in Lagos State.