Abstract
BACKGROUND: Occupational stress, which negatively affects nurses’ health, job satisfaction, and quality of patient care, is a major challenge in nursing. This study conducted a comparative analysis of occupational stress among nurses in government and private hospitals in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, identifying levels, predictors, effects, and coping strategies. METHODOLOGY: A hospital-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 375 nurses selected through multistage sampling. Data were collected via structured questionnaires covering demographic data, stress levels, influencing factors, effects, and coping mechanisms. The data were analysed with SPSS version 27.0 via descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: High occupational stress was reported by 51.2% of nurses, with stress levels significantly higher in government hospitals than in private hospitals [AOR = 2.43 (1.04, 5.65), p = 0.039]. Marital status, age, rank, and years of experience were significantly associated with stress levels. Key stressors included heavy workload (69.6%), inadequate resources (61.1%), lack of overtime pay (61.6%), and unsatisfactory salaries (64.3%). Nurses in government hospitals were twice as likely to report reduced patient care attitudes [AOR = 1.78 (1.06–3.00), p = 0.030]. Emotional stressors such as patient deaths were reported by 81.1% of the nurses. Nurses adopted coping strategies such as time management, hobbies, and peer support. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that a significant proportion of nurses in both government and private hospitals in the Ashanti Region experienced high levels of occupational stress. Nurses in government hospitals were more likely to report stress than were those in private hospitals. This imply that nurses’ stress can harm their well-being and patient care. To mitigate stress, hospital management and policymakers should strengthen support systems, ensure fair remuneration, recognize nurses’ efforts, and enforce adequate staffing and resources.