Wellness room as a strategy to reduce occupational stress: quasi-experimental study

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare occupational stress levels of nurse staff working in the surgical unit before and after the intervention “wellness room”. Method: Quasi-experimental study with a sample of 60 nurse staff working in a surgical unit of a teaching hospital in the Southern Region of Brazil. The intervention was conducted in a room in the workplace for six months and consisted of sections of aesthetic care, relaxation, lectures and workshops to reduce occupational stress. Data were collected through the Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire before and after the intervention, and the comparative analysis was performed by the Wilcoxon test. Results: After the intervention, there was a decrease in demand and an increase in control and in the social support received at work in all professional categories, but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The intervention “wellness room” reduced occupational stress levels in the sample studied; however, it was not a significant decrease.