Assessment of head nurses’ mental health

Aim: To investigate mental health of head nurses in internal medicine and surgery departments of Athens and province. Material and methods: 79 head nurses and nurse supervisors in internal medicine and surgery departments of secondary health care hospitals in Athens and one provincial town filled in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28. Results: Mean age of the sample was 40.19±5.30 years old.10% of head nurses and nurse supervisors exhibited considerable mental health burden, while no differences were observed between men and women. Conclusions: Head nurses and nurse supervisors generally exhibit lower mental burden than other nurses. However, in a considerable percentage of them, mental heal problems are still significant, without differentiation between men and women.