Job uncertainty and health status for nurses during restructuring of health care in Alberta

The Alberta health care system experienced dramatic changes after provincial funding cuts to health care from 1993 to 1996. As a result, stressors for nurses increased. The question of whether job uncertainty, working conditions, cognitive appraisal, and coping strategies influence the health of registered nurses in a context of health care restructuring was examined. Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress was used as the conceptual framework. A total of 271 registered nurses employed in a large, urban, acute-care teaching hospital responded to a self-administered survey questionnaire. Using multiple regression analysis, depression and self-reported physical health were analyzed. The data suggest that the threat of being placed on recall, having a coworker bumped or laid off, and perceived job security were adversely related to physical health. High primary appraisal of threat was associated with high levels of depression and poor physical health. In addition, the findings suggest that various coping strategies had both buffering and exacerbating effects on physical health and depression.