Abstract
The health of a nurse is very important because her mental and physical health can influence toward nursing patients directly, Especially, Cancer patients are growing annually. Also, terminal cancer patients' nursing and dead place are increasingly using hospital and the period of nursing for cancer patients are increasing. Nursing for cancer patients are different with acute disease. Therefore, I analysed comparing nurses' health working in cancer and general ward so that nurses working at cancer ward could be developed as a professional nurse, and I wanted to establish the foundation of nursing administration and reasonable manpower management to supply good quality of nursing to patients. In my research, I selected 117 nurses working in cancer ward and 134 nurses working in general word to analyse the stress rate and nurse's health comparing nurses working in general ward and cancer ward. The survey was conducted of nurses working in cancer ward nurses in 2 university hospitals, nurses working in a cancer hospital, and general ward nurses working in 3 public hospital. Also, the data was collected from Sep. 13, 2001 to Sep. 28, 2001. As health measuring tool, I used Cornell Medical Index(CMI) which are developed to fit Koreans by Ko Ungrin and Park Hang-bas (1980) using Cornell Medical Services which were designed by Weiser, Brosman, Mittelman, Wechler, Wolff in Cornell University(1945). As working stress measuring tool, I used Questionaries which were designed by Kim Mae-ja and Ku Mi-ok(1984) and then developed by Bae In-sook(1996). For managing the data, I used frequency, percentage, ${\chi}^2$ verification, t-test, and F-test (ANOVA). And in the case of significant data(p<.05). I did Duncan's test for post verification. The mutual relation between health condition and working stress rate have been conducted using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient. Followings are the results of my research. 1. Two groups showed significant differency at age after testing homogeneous character between two groups (${\chi}^2$ =9.919, p=.007). 2. Comparing two group's health condition, cancer ward(average 19.35${\pm}$18.34) were higher than general ward(14.42${\pm}$10.59) and showed statistical significant differency(p=.009). And, comparing two group's mental condition, cancer ward(9.00${\pm}$9.79) were higher than general ward(7.13${\pm}$6.35) and statistically no differency. 3. After comparing two group's working stress rate, the rate of cancer ward nurse's working stress(3.36${\pm}$.50) is higher than general ward nurse (3.32${\pm}$.48). There are no significant differency. However, in the detailed verification test, there were significant differency at inappropriate compensation (t=3.254, p=.001) and medication issue (t=2.170, p=.031). 4. After comparing health condition at general points, physical health condition showed significant differency at age(p=.020), the number of children (p=.015), religion (p=.015), position(p=.005), career(p=.008), working satisfaction(p=.003), activity after office hour(p=.045); and mental health condition showed significant differency at position(p=.010), career (p=.017), working satisfaction (p=.003). 5. After comparing the working stress rate according to general points, there were significant differency at working satisfaction (F=5.285, p=.006), predicted nursing(F=3.822, p=.023). 6. At the relation of health condition and working stress rate between two groups. physical and mental condition showed significant relation with working stress rate. i.e, if a nurse's health condition is not good, she are feeling much more stress than others. After considering all the factors in my research, I found that the health condition and stress rate of cancer ward nurses is much higher than general ward nurses. Considering that cancer ward nurses is necessary to care for increasing cancer patients with mental and physical nursing, the less stress for cancer ward nurses is very important to develop nursing quality and working efficiency by keeping good health condition, specializing cancer ward nurses. Therefore, we need following studies to find the factors which are effecting to cancer ward nurses' health and specialization. Also, we need to improve managing working condition to decrease working stress by improving working condition.