Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Sep 18:2025:8897678.
doi: 10.1155/jonm/8897678. eCollection 2025.

The Role of Stress, Social Norms and Attitudes in Help-Seeking for Nurses

Niall Galbraith  1 , David Boyda  1 , Danielle McFeeters  1 , Darren Chadwick  1 , Wendy Nicholls  1 , Debbie Stevens-Gill  1 , Rachael Harris  2
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Stress, Social Norms and Attitudes in Help-Seeking for Nurses

Niall Galbraith et al. J Nurs Manag. .

Abstract

Aims: Explore the barriers to nurses' help-seeking for stress using the theory of planned behaviour. Background: Perceived stigma can prevent health professionals from seeking psychological help, yet few studies have explored these barriers in the nursing profession. Methods: After accounting for missing data, a total of 549 nurses were included in the final analysis. Measures included attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, intention to seek help for stress and stress experienced in the previous 12 months. Analyses tested direct and indirect pathways between help-seeking beliefs and intentions, with stress as a moderator. Results: Intention to seek help for stress was predicted by help-seeking attitudes and subjective norms. Perceived behavioural control did not predict help-seeking intentions. Attitudes and subjective norms were positively related to recent help-seeking behaviour and were mediated by current intentions to seek help. These mediated relationships were stronger in those who had experienced recent stress. Conclusions: Workplace interventions to reduce the stigma of help-seeking for stress should target both personal attitudes in nurses but also cultural norms and values that prevail within healthcare organisations.

Keywords: help-seeking; nurses; quantitative methods; stress; theory of planned behaviour.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The conceptual model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdul Rahim H. F., Fendt-Newlin M., Al-Harahsheh S. T., Campbell J. Our Duty of Care: A Global Call to Action to Protect the Mental Health of Health and Care Workers. World Innovation Summit for Health . 2022
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health . 2024. Impact Wellbeing Guide: Taking Action to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2024-109.
    1. Carson W., Bates M., Howard J. Elevating Professional Well-Being in Healthcare. Nursing Management . 2024;55(8):7–12. doi: 10.1097/nmg.0000000000000154. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Catapano P., Cipolla S., Sampogna G., et al. Organizational and Individual Interventions for Managing Work-Related Stress in Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review. Medicina . 2023;59(10):p. 1866. doi: 10.3390/medicina59101866. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cohen C., Pignata S., Bezak E., Tie M., Childs J. Workplace Interventions to Improve Well-Being and Reduce Burnout for Nurses, Physicians and Allied Healthcare Professionals: A Systematic Review. BMJ Open . 2023;13(6):p. e071203. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071203. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources