Assessing The Impact of Occupational Stress on the Mental Health of Staff At Focos Orthopaedic Hospital

Abstract

Background: Occupational stress is a significant public health concern among healthcare workers globally, contributing to adverse mental health outcomes including anxiety, depression, and burnout. In Ghana, existing research has concentrated largely on general hospital settings, leaving a critical gap in evidence from specialised healthcare institutions. Staff working in orthopaedic and surgical facilities face distinct occupational demands that may heighten vulnerability to psychological distress. Despite this, no prior study has examined occupational stress and its mental health consequences specifically among staff at FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital. Aim: This study assessed the impact of occupational stress on the mental health of staff at FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, Accra, Ghana. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed. Using Yamane's formula applied to a known total staff population of 350, a sample of 206 participants was recruited through stratified random sampling across professional cadres. Data was collected via a structured, self-administered questionnaire incorporating adapted items from the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and a set of six burnout items informed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory framework. Descriptive statistics summarised participant characteristics and outcome distributions. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine associations between occupational stress and mental health outcomes. Results: A total of 206 respondents participated (response rate: 100%). The majority were female (58.74%), and nurses constituted the largest professional group (49.51%). Over 95% of respondents reported moderate to high levels of occupational stress, with a mean stress score of 3.30 ± 0.48. The most frequently reported stressors were lack of supervisory and collegial support (34.47% always), fear of making clinical errors (30.58% always), long working hours (29.13% always), and inadequate resources (29.13% always). Regarding mental health outcomes, the majority of respondents screened positive for clinically relevant anxiety (61.66% moderate to severe on GAD-7, mean = 10.36 ± 3.04), while depressive symptoms were particularly severe, with 91.26% of respondents falling in the moderate-to-severe range on the PHQ-9 (mean = 13.98 ± 3.30). Burnout was widespread, with 90.29% of respondents experiencing moderate to high burnout (mean = 3.06 ± 0.54). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that occupational stress was significantly associated with depression (AOR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.97–6.64, p = 0.048), indicating that staff with high stress levels were approximately 2.5 times more likely to report depressive symptoms. No statistically significant associations were found between occupational stress and anxiety (AOR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.39–1.12, p = 0.127) or burnout (AOR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.58–1.84, p = 0.916). Conclusion: Occupational stress is highly prevalent among staff at FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, and is significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Anxiety and burnout, while widespread, did not show statistically significant associations with stress levels in this study, possibly reflecting ceiling effects and limitations in burnout measurement. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions, including workload management strategies, structured supervisory support systems, and accessible psychosocial services, to protect the psychological wellbeing and professional sustainability of staff in specialised hospital settings in Ghana.