Practice area and work demands in nurses' aides: a cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health

Table 3 Demands and control at work, by practice area. Hospital departments. Results of Mann-Whitney rank sum tests.

Work factors	Somatic department (adults)	Psychiatric department (adults)	Paediatric department
Quantitative work demands	3758 (3153) **	2052 (3322) **	3266 (3230)
Positioning patients in bed	3322 (3064) **	1189 (3241) **	1943 (3117) **
Supporting patients between bed and chair	3033 (3078)	1200 (3210) **	1510 (3098) **
Handling heavy objects	3241 (2983) **	1936 (3099) **	2853 (3019)
Positive challenges	3611 (3172) **	3707 (3191) **	3878 (3217) **
Role conflicts	2998 (3269) **	2785 (3255) **	2541 (3233) **
Exposure to threats or violence	2387 (3354) **	4652 (3119) **	2124 (3249) **
Control of work pace	2752 (3301) **	3903 (3178) **	2895 (3236)
Participation in important decisions	2970 (3259) **	3689 (3186) **	3054 (3225)

The figures are mean ranks of participants working in the noted practice area, and, in paranthesis, mean ranks of the participants not working in this area. For example, the figures in the upper left corner, 3758 (3153), show that the level of quantitative work demands was higher in somatic departments (mean rank = 3758) than in other practice areas all together (mean rank = 3153). * P < 0.01; ** P < 0.001.

ISSN: 1471-2458