[Job stress among the nursing staff of Kashan hospitals]

Background: Job stress, the most important factor in reducing organizational productivity and the cause of psychosomatic disorders, today is more prevalent among the healthcare staff. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess the level of job stress among the nursing staff of Kashan hospitals during 2009

Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 190 nurses of Kashan hospitals using the Osipow questionnaire consisted of two parts: demographic data and six stress-inducing work roles [role overload, role insufficiency, role ambiguity, role boundary, responsibility and physical environment]. In addition, job stress was divided into four [subnormal, normal, moderate and severe] levels

Results: Results indicated that the 95.3% of nursing staff were found to have a normal level of job stress. No significant relationship was seen between the job stress and gender; however, there was a significant relation between the role insufficiency, role boundary, responsibility and physical environment and gender. Moreover, no significant relationship was found between the job stress and some factors [e.g. age, education, marital status, income and type of hospital]. The most frequent job stressors among the men and women were responsibility [90.2%] and role ambiguity [40.9%], respectively

Conclusion: Role ambiguity, responsibility and workload are the major sources of stress among the nursing staff

[Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on blocking potentiation of noise induced hearing loss by carbon monoxide in rabbits]

Noise induced hearing loss [NIHL] is one of the most important occupational diseases worldwide. NIHL has been found to be potentiated by simultaneous carbon monoxide [CO] exposure. This study was performed to evaluate the protective effect of Nacetylcysteine [NAC] administration on potentiating effect of CO on NIHL in rabbits. In this experimental study forty-two male adult white rabbits were divided into seven groups [n=6 for each group]. Group 1, as control [no exposure to noise or CO and no injection]; Group 2, noise exposure [100 dB for 40 h]; Group 3, noise+CO exposure; Group 4, noise exposure+NAC administration [325 mg/kg]; Group 5, noise+CO exposure+NAC administration, Group 6, NAC administration alone and Group 7, CO exposure [700 ppm for 40h]. Audiometric test of rabbits was assessed by Auditory Brain stem Response [ABR] test in three stages: before exposure, 1 hour and 14 days post exposure at 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz frequency. The administration of NAC attenuated temporary and permanent ABR threshold shift caused by noise exposure and simultaneous exposure to noise plus CO. NAC administration blocked the potentiating of temporary threshold shift by CO at 1, 2, and 4 KHz frequency and also blocked potentiating of permanent threshold shift by CO at all frequencies. NAC as an antioxidant agent can attenuate temporary and permanent noise induced ABR threshold shifts and provides protective effect against potentiating of NIHL by CO in rabbits

[Evaluating the correlation between burnout syndrome dimensions and demographic characteristics of cashiers in state banks of Kashan]

Burnout syndrome as a serious occupational disorder has recently been focused by researchers. Three main dimensions of burnout syndrome are emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. This syndrome leads to physiological and psychological stresses and diminishes the staff interest and work efficiency. This study was designed to assess the correlation between burnout syndrome dimensions and demographic characteristics of cashiers in state banks of Kashan in 2010. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 156 cashiers in sate banks of Kashan. Frequency and severity of burnout syndrome were evaluated using Maslach burnout inventory [MBI]. Demographic characteristics of subjects were collected through a specific questionnaire. Data were analyzed using chi-square test. In frequency twenty-seven [17.3%] and in severity 12 [7.7%] of subjects showed the most emotional exhaustion. The most reduced personal accomplishment was in frequency in 24 [15.4%] and in severity in 27 [17.3%] participants. Also the most depersonalization was in 21 [13.5%] and in 14 [9%] subjects in frequency and in severity, respectively. There was a significant relationship between age, gender, work records and marital status with emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment of banks' cashiers. Emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment have a significant relationship with demographic characteristics