Occupational Stress Among Nurses in Private Hospitals: Patterns, Causes, and Consequences with Reference to Rajasthan

Abstract

This review examines the patterns, determinants, and consequences of occupational stress among nurses in private hospital settings with specific reference to Rajasthan, India. Drawing on the Job Demand–Control and Effort–Reward Imbalance frameworks, it synthesizes evidence on key stressors, including workload, shift work, role conflict, organizational support deficits, and work–life imbalance. Documented outcomes span physiological, psychological, and behavioral domains, with implications for job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and quality of patient care. Sectoral and regional nuances pertinent to private hospitals in Rajasthan such as staffing models, institutional culture, and gendered role expectations are assessed alongside emerging Indian evidence indicating elevated stress and dissatisfaction among private-sector nurses in Western India. The review identifies gaps in region-specific and longitudinal evidence, limited gender-disaggregated analysis, and sparse evaluation of organizational interventions in Rajasthan’s private sector. It outlines an implementation agenda for evidence-based stress mitigation and proposes a research design tailored to Rajasthan to guide policy and hospital management reforms.