A comparison of the effect of work stress on burnout and quality of life between female nurses and female doctors

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of work stress on job burnout and quality of life between female nurses and doctors in China. The participants were 947 female nurses and 685 female doctors selected from Fujian provinces by using stratified cluster sampling method. The Chinese version of Short Form-36 Health Survey was used to measure quality of life; the Occupation Stress Inventory-Revised Edition was applied for occupational stress; and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey was used to assess job burnout. Occupational stress (indicated by different stressors) played an important role in job burnout and quality of life among female nurses and female doctors when taking into account other potential influencing factors simultaneously. These results show that it is important to adopt different preventive measures to prevent burnout and improve quality of life among the 2 populations according to the different stressors.