The relevance of identifying stressors in intensive care units within the framework of promoting quality of work life (QWL) issues among healthcare professionals : PS-ICU Group

Identifying stress factors to improve quality of life in intensive care

Abstract

Quality of working life (QWL) among healthcare professionals is a major determinant of caregivers’ health, team stability, and the quality and safety of care delivery. In intensive care units (ICUs), emotional, cognitive, and organizational demands expose professionals to an increased risk of occupational stress and sustained deterioration in QWL. In line with contemporary models of occupational stress, such deterioration cannot be reduced to individual vulnerabilities alone but must be understood through a systemic approach focusing on organizational and relational determinants of work.

However, implementing such an approach requires a precise and context-specific identification of stressors inherent to intensive care settings. Generic instruments designed to assess occupational stress often lack sensitivity to the particularities of ICU practice, including the emotional burden associated with patients and families, ethical dilemmas, and complex high-stakes decision-making.

This synthesis therefore aims to document the main sources of stress in intensive care and to highlight the value of measurement tools specifically developed for this context, suche as PS-ICU scale, in order to support primary prevention strategies grounded in a nuanced understanding of real-world clinical environments.