An integrative review of the influence of job strain and coping on nurses' work performance: Understanding the gaps in oncology nursing research

Nursing is known to be a stressful profession that can lead to physical and psychological health issues and behavioural problems. In oncology, workload among nurses is believed to be increasing in conjunction with rapidly increasing numbers of patients with cancer and staff shortages worldwide, therefore it is essential to sustain a quality oncology nurse workforce. Numerous studies have presented evidence on job strain, effects of coping strategies, and nurses' work performance within healthcare settings, but few have focused on oncology settings and none of these on nurses working in Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this review was to summarize empirical and theoretical evidence concerning job-related stressors in nurses, particularly oncology nurses, and the interrelationships among job strain, coping strategies, and work performance in this population. Search strategies identified studies published on studies in peer-reviewed journals from 2004 to 2016. Twenty-five nursing studies were found examining the relationships among the concepts of interest. Common job-related stressors among oncology nurses were high job demands, dealing with death/dying, lack of job control, and interpersonal conflicts at work. Job strain was found to be significantly linked to coping strategies, and negatively associated with work performance among nurses in general. There is no existing empirical evidence to support the relationship between coping strategies and work performance among oncology nurses. The present evidence is limited, and a considerable amount of research is required in the future to expand the oncology nursing literature. Research is needed to investigate job-related stressors and their effects on oncology nurses.