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Mental health status of nurses working in private and public sectors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

N. Rmadi ,
A. Hrairi ,
M. Hajji ,
F. Dhouib ,
F. Ben Atia ,
I. Ben Hnia ,
M. Hajjaji  and
K. Jmal Hammami
N. Rmadi
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
A. Hrairi
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
M. Hajji*
Affiliation:
Family medicine department
F. Dhouib
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
F. Ben Atia
Affiliation:
Higher Institute of Nursing Sciences of Sfax, university of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
I. Ben Hnia
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
M. Hajjaji
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
K. Jmal Hammami
Affiliation:
Occupational medicine department, Hedi chaker university hospital, University of Sfax
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Nurses are at the forefront of patient care and are often exposed to various stressors that can impact their mental health. The mental health of nurses working in both the private and public sectors is a significant issue that requires attention.

Objectives

In this study, we propose to compare psychological distress of nurses working in private and public sectors.

Methods

It was a cross sectional study conducted among 200 nurses (100 from each of the private and public sector). We used the 6-item Kessler scale (K6) to measure symptoms of psychological distress.

Results

The average age of nurses working in the public sector was 33.24 ± 9.34 years versus 31.93 ± 7.68 years in the private sector. Most staff (33.5%), whether in the public or private sector, had professional seniority of between 6 and 10 years. The average K6 score was significantly higher in the public sector (9.01) compared to the private sector (7.35) (p-value = 0.01). The likelihood of experiencing psychological distress was lower in the private sector compared to the public sector (p= 0.034; OR= 0.37; 95% CI [0.14-0.95]).

Conclusions

These findings highlighted potential implications for the mental health of nurses based on their employment sector, showing that prolonged daily stress could have a negative impact on their psychological well-being.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S782 - S783
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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