Effects of occupational stress and coping mechanisms adopted by radiographers in Ghana G.G.N.A. Ashong a, * , H. Rogers b , B.O. Botwe a , S. Anim-Sampong a a Dept. of Radiography, Univ. of Ghana School of Biomedical & Allied Health Sciences, Ghana b Cardiff University School of Healthcare Studies, United Kingdom article info Article history: Received 15 May 2015 Received in revised form 12 September 2015 Accepted 13 September 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Occupational stress Coping mechanisms Ghana Radiographers abstract Background: Studies have shown that population of radiography staff within various hospitals in Ghana decreased by 30% in the last decade due to several reasons. One of such reasons understood to be related to stress and job satisfaction which affect work output. Purpose: To investigate the effects of occupational stress and the coping mechanisms adopted by radi- ographers in Ghana. Method: A descriptive survey using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire with pre-coded responses was administered via email to respondents. Purposive sampling method was used to select 190 radiographers who work in hospitals in Ghana. Descriptive statistics was mainly used to analyse the data using SPSS Version 20. Results: Of a total 190 questionnaires sent, 122 were completed and returned giving a 64.3% response rate. Majority 78 (64%) of respondents were males and the predominant area of work was conventional radiography. Most radiographers revealed they were stressed with 63% indicating high/very high levels of stress. The consequent effects of stress on radiographers were sick absence, depression and job dissatisfaction. Most of the radiographers used primary interventions to cope with stress. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that most radiographers in Ghana are stressed. However, they cope well with problem-solving mechanisms. This suggests that the decrease in number of radiographers within various facilities in Ghana by 30% may not necessarily be caused by stress but other factors which need to be investigated. Nevertheless, occupational stress has an effect on radiographers' quality of working life and may directly impact on their behaviour during service delivery. © 2015 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Stress has been defined by Brooker 1 as a combination of factors (physical, chemical or psychological) that poses a threat to the homeostasis of an organism and produces defensive responses such as physical or emotional trauma, or infection. It is described as occupational stress if one sustains the stress during working ac- tivities. Stress can affect different people in different ways, expressing its effects on individuals as well as on organisations. 2 Occupational stress has been linked to a range of adverse physical and mental effects, including insomnia, depression, cardiovascular disease and anxiety. 3 Stressful working conditions have been identified to impact negatively on employee well-being by directly contributing to negative health behaviours or by limiting an in- dividual's ability to make positive changes to lifestyle behaviours, such as smoking and inactive behaviours. 4 Studies show that occupational stress may be caused by social, individual, or work- place factors and has been recognised as a health hazard in working environments. 3,5 Specifically, healthcare professions have been highlighted as stressful occupations and has been emphasised that healthcare workers are at risk of developing occupational stress symptoms. 6 This growing perception that occupational stress negatively affected healthcare workers revealed a particular concern with regards to the effects of stress on health care pro- fessionals which includes radiographers. 7 Extensive researches have been conducted to investigate the causes of stress amongst radiographers. 3,4,8 According to Thomas and Valli 9 healthcare workers have been reported to be among the most stressed professionals. This has been attributed to the increased risk of infection, high job demands, * Corresponding author. E-mail address: diggyclef21@yahoo.com (G.G.N.A. Ashong). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Radiography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/radi http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2015.09.002 1078-8174/© 2015 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Radiography xxx (2015) 1e6 Please cite this article in press as: Ashong GGNA, et al., Effects of occupational stress and coping mechanisms adopted by radiographers in Ghana, Radiography (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2015.09.002