Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses
Abstract Nurses are the front-liners for patients who need urgent care; therefore, they are exposed to several stressors. Indirect exposure to others’ trauma is called secondary traumatic stress. This study examined the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06840-1 |
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| author | Marwa Al Barmawi Batool El Shahrouri Lourance Al Hadid Majdi M. Alzoubi Khalid Al-Mugheed Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah Sally Mohammed Farghaly Abdelaliem |
| author_facet | Marwa Al Barmawi Batool El Shahrouri Lourance Al Hadid Majdi M. Alzoubi Khalid Al-Mugheed Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah Sally Mohammed Farghaly Abdelaliem |
| author_sort | Marwa Al Barmawi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Nurses are the front-liners for patients who need urgent care; therefore, they are exposed to several stressors. Indirect exposure to others’ trauma is called secondary traumatic stress. This study examined the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses in Jordan. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected through a questionnaire, both paper and electronic, from 317 nurses working in nine hospitals. Nurses in this study had moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress with a mean of 40.9 (SD = 11.29), and around half of them met the diagnostic criteria. Arousal was the most reported symptom followed by avoidance and lastly intrusion. The majority of nurses had a mild to moderate risk of developing secondary traumatic stress. Multiple traumatizing events had a positive relationship with STS prevalence. Nurses viewed the preventive measures as moderately to greatly effective. Efforts must be directed toward preventing, diagnosing, and treating secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3176186fa14a49efbf9861b44f02665b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1471-244X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-3176186fa14a49efbf9861b44f02665b2025-08-20T01:49:35ZengBMCBMC Psychiatry1471-244X2025-05-0125111010.1186/s12888-025-06840-1Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nursesMarwa Al Barmawi0Batool El Shahrouri1Lourance Al Hadid2Majdi M. Alzoubi3Khalid Al-Mugheed4Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah5Sally Mohammed Farghaly Abdelaliem6Alzaytoonah University of Jordan (ZUJ)Alzaytoonah University of JordanFaculty of Nursing, Al-Balqa Applied UniversityFaculty of Nursing, Al-Zaytoonah University of JordanCollege of Nursing, Riyadh Elm UniversityDepartment of Maternity and Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman UniversityDepartment of Nursing Management and Education, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman UniversityAbstract Nurses are the front-liners for patients who need urgent care; therefore, they are exposed to several stressors. Indirect exposure to others’ trauma is called secondary traumatic stress. This study examined the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses in Jordan. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected through a questionnaire, both paper and electronic, from 317 nurses working in nine hospitals. Nurses in this study had moderate levels of secondary traumatic stress with a mean of 40.9 (SD = 11.29), and around half of them met the diagnostic criteria. Arousal was the most reported symptom followed by avoidance and lastly intrusion. The majority of nurses had a mild to moderate risk of developing secondary traumatic stress. Multiple traumatizing events had a positive relationship with STS prevalence. Nurses viewed the preventive measures as moderately to greatly effective. Efforts must be directed toward preventing, diagnosing, and treating secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06840-1Critical care nursesPreventive measuresTraumatic stressWarning signs |
| spellingShingle | Marwa Al Barmawi Batool El Shahrouri Lourance Al Hadid Majdi M. Alzoubi Khalid Al-Mugheed Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah Sally Mohammed Farghaly Abdelaliem Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses BMC Psychiatry Critical care nurses Preventive measures Traumatic stress Warning signs |
| title | Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| title_full | Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| title_fullStr | Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| title_short | Measuring the prevalence, warning signs, and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| title_sort | measuring the prevalence warning signs and preventive measures of secondary traumatic stress among critical care nurses |
| topic | Critical care nurses Preventive measures Traumatic stress Warning signs |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06840-1 |
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