What stresses remote area nurses? Current knowledge and future action.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Occupational Health
• Rural Health

Background:

• Remote area nurses (RANs) in Australia provide critical primary healthcare services in isolated settings.
• These nurses often encounter unique occupational stressors that impact their well-being and retention.
• Understanding these stressors is crucial for developing effective support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize existing literature on the stresses experienced by remote area nurses (RANs).
• To identify interventions implemented to mitigate these identified stresses.
• To explore the applicability of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model in understanding RANs' occupational stress.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature review was conducted.
• Searches were performed using the meta-databases Ovid and Informit.
• The review focused on studies related to remote Australian primary health care settings.

Main Results:

• Key demands on RANs include the remote context, high workload, extended scope of practice, poor management, and workplace/community violence.
• The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model is relevant for analyzing occupational stress in this high-demand, low-resource environment.
• Immutable demands necessitate enhancing resources in education, training, orientation, funding, and management practices.

Conclusions:

• There is a notable lack of empirical evidence specifically addressing the stresses faced by RANs.
• Stresses are a combination of context-specific challenges and resource deficits.
• Utilizing frameworks like the JD-R model can guide efforts to enhance resources and reduce stress levels for RANs.