Occupational Psychosocial Stress among Staff of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana

Aim: This study was conducted among the staff of a new public university that provides health and related sciences education in Ghana. The aim of this research was to find information on the prevalence and patterns associated with occupational stress among the tutorial and administrative staff of the University of Health and Allied Sciences.

Methods: Using a descriptive survey, the study employed the Effort-Reward Imbalance scale to solicit information from both the tutorial and administrative staff of the university. Questionnaires were used to collect information from 59 respondents consisting of 45 males and 14 females.

Results: The study population presented a stress prevalence rate of 44.07% which was higher among the female respondents (64.29%). Staff with Diploma (50.00%) and First Degrees (50.00%) presented high levels of stress. Staff performing dual roles and those performing only administrative roles recorded high prevalence of 55.56% and 50.00% respectively. Regarding the component stressors, there was a high record of Effort-Promotion Imbalance (61.02%), Effort-Esteem Imbalance (50.00%) and Over Commitment-Promotion Imbalance (62.50%) predominantly among respondents who were less than 30 years old. In this study, high levels of occupational psychosocial stress exist, which is mainly influenced by gender, age, level of education and work roles.

Conclusion: The creation of an enabling working environment with clearly defined expectations and rewards will help university staff to appreciate whatever return they receive for their outputs.