The Use of Exercise to Manage Chronic Work-Related Stress in the Prevention of Nursing Burnout: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract Background: Nursing Burnout is prevalent on a global scale and growing at an alarming rate. It is a growing threat to the nursing population, public health, and the economics of the healthcare system. One of the leading factors in burnout is chronic work-related stress (CWRS). With burnout reaching epidemic proportions and knowledge gaps in the research creating delay in prevention measure it is important for nurses to participate in self-care to reduce CWRS. Self-care strategies that have been shown to reduce CWRS related to burnout are exercise, adequate sleep, and proper nutrition. Objectives: To examine the effects of the use of exercise and the effects on decreasing Chronic Work-Related Stress in the Prevention of Nursing Burnout Methodology: Nurses working on any hospital unit were recruited to participate in an educational exercise intervention. The intervention was provided to nurses to increase their awareness on chronic work-related stress (CWRS) that often results in nurse burnout, its impact, and strategies to improve CWRS. The nurse’s participation in an exercise routine completed the intervention. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure the effectiveness of the educational exercise intervention. Nurses completed the survey pre and post intervention. Results: Findings showed that nurses experienced a reduction in stress with the educational exercise intervention as measured by the PSS. While the nurses sampled experienced an improved score on the PSS, indicating a reduction in stress, a larger sample over a longer of period are the needed next steps to this research. For policy makers, this study can create awareness in which to improve development of . Key Words: nurses, burnout, exercise, chronic work-related stress, self-care