A study to assess the effect of Stress and Emotional Intelligence on Quality of Life of Nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal

Abstract

Background & Aim: Nursing is a stressful job. It requires dedication, sincerity and compassion for the sick. These qualities put the nurses under tremendous work pressure which hampers their quality of life. The experience to handle stressful situations develops with maturity of taking decisions, keeping self-updated and the confidence of balancing work life situations. The present study aimed to identify the impact of stress and emotional intelligence on the quality of life of nurses.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 50 female nurses from a tertiary care hospital, selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected online. Emotional intelligence was assessed with the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment questionnaire, stress levels were measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and quality of life was evaluated with the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire.

Result: The majority of nurses were in the 25–30 years age group (26%), while 20% were between 46 and 50 years old. The mean years of experience among the participants was 8.3 years (SD = 2.6; median = 7.5; range: 8–14 years). The Perceived Stress Scale results showed that the study participants experienced moderate to high levels of stress. The mean scores as per the domains such as physical, psychological, social, environmental and spiritual health was 7.8 ± 2.07, 18.56 ± 3.72, 11.60 ± 1.98, 31.92 ± 4.80 and 2.0 ± 0.67. Higher scores indicate higher quality of life. It was seen that > 50% participants required strengthening their Emotional Quotient for effective functioning, < 25%required attention and development of their EQ while 4-20% had enhanced skills and were able to use this as their strength for betterment of others and weaker areas. The Spearman’s rho analysis identified that stress had negative impact on the domains of QoL i.e. social relationship, environment and spiritual domain were found statistically significant with p< 0.05. it was also identified that EI domain of relationship management was significantly correlated (p <0.001) with the QoL domain of Psychology. It was found that independent variables like Age (21.425, p< 0.04) with Emotional Awareness, while Marital status (13.250, p< 0.05) and No. of Children (10.834, p<0.05) were significantly correlated with the Emotional Management Domain.

Conclusion: According to the study’s findings, stress and emotional intelligence (EI) have an impact on nurses’ quality of life (QoL). Because nurses deal with patients and coworkers on a regular basis, emotional intelligence (EI) is particularly important in the healthcare industry. Higher EI levels may thereby increase nurses’ empathy and fortitude, fostering a more encouraging and supportive workplace.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.24321/2455.9318.202604

How to cite this article:
Manocha M, Sherin P K. A study to assess the effect of Stress and Emotional Intelligence on Quality of Life of Nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal. Int J Nurs Midwif Res.2026;13(2):1-7.