Several studies on job stress have been conducted among nurses, teachers, clerks, lecturers, laboratory technicians, petroleum and automotive workers and the calculated prevalences ranged from 20-35%; associated factors identified include high job demand, low job control and poor social support. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of stress in dental healthcare workers of an institution of higher learning in Kelantan. A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and associated factors of stress in 54 dental healthcare workers of an institution of higher learning in Kelantan [response rate of 63.5 percent] was conducted in March 2006. The Malay version of the validated Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire were used as research instruments in this study. Informed consents were obtained from all participants. The prevalence of stress was 22.2%. One (1.9%) staff member experienced severe stress whilst 20.4% experienced mild to moderate stress. After controlling for age, sex, marital status and duration of work, psychological job demand (adj. b 0.61, 95% CI 0.21, 1.00, p=0.003), toxic exposures (adj. b 1.41, 95% CI 0.47, 2.35, p=0.004) and overtime work (adj. b 5.67, 95% CI - 1.18, 10.16, p=0.015) were directly associated with reported stress in dental healthcare workers. High psychological job demand, increased toxic exposures at work and increased overtime work were significantly associated with stress in dental healthcare workers. These findings can be used to guide preventive measures to reduce stress in dental healthcare settings.
To examine the reliability and construct validity of the Malay Version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), a validation study was conducted in 184 automotive assembly workers. The internal consistency and construct validity were assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient
and exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for DASS-Depression, DASS-Anxiety and DASS-Stress were 0.91, 0.88 and j 0.89, respectively, indicating satisfactory internal consistency Exploratory factor analysis showed three meaningful common factors that could
explain the three theoretical constructs of this instrument. These results suggested that the Malay version DASS is reliable and valid for assessing, the self perceived depression, anxiety and stress among Malaysian automotive workers.
Study site: Two automotive assembly plants, Pahang, Malaysia