The influence of workplace stress on family functioning of resident doctors at university college hospital Ibadan

Abstract

Background: Work and family are very important aspects of life, and for medical doctors, workplace stress may be inevitable during residency training. Resident doctors should have a balanced work-family life because it contributes to their overall family functioning.
Objectives: The specific objectives were to determine the prevalence of workplace stress, evaluate the family functioning, and assess the influence of workplace stress on the family functioning of the resident doctors working in the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria.
Setting: The study was conducted at the University College Hospital, Ibadan located at the south-western part of Nigeria.
Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study, conducted among resident doctors across all the specialties at UCH, Ibadan over a period of 3 months. Two hundred and thirty-two eligible and consenting resident doctors were selected by stratified random sampling and data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.
Results: The prevalence of workplace stress among the resident doctors was 62.1%, and 27.6% had problematic family functioning. There was a significant association between workplace stress and the family functioning of the resident doctors. Workplace stress could independently predict problematic family functioning of the resident doctors.
Conclusion: Workplace stress should not be underestimated, as it has significant influence on the family functioning of the resident
doctors working at the UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Keywords: workplace; stress; family; functioning; influence; work-family.