Measuring levels of professionally-related stress in taxi drivers in Fes, Morocco]
Author: Berraho M, Nejjari C, Elrhazi K, El Fakir S, Tessier JF, Ouأ©draogo N, Mekouar S, Raiss N.
Source:
Sante Publique. 2006 Sep;18(3):375-87.
Professional stress is a harmful physical and emotional reaction that can occur
when tension exists between the requirements imposed on a person and the level of
control that person may, or may not, have on the fulfillment of these
requirements (essentially tension between what one is expected to achieve and
what one can realistically achieve). At present, traffic accidents are considered
to be a major social problem in Morocco. The authors aim to describe stress
levels in taxi drivers and to study potential associated factors, in particular
the risk of having an accident while driving. A questionnaire was administered in
a cross sectional survey to a sample of 338 taxi drivers working in the city of
Fes, Morocco. Stress was evaluated by using a standardized scale developed by the
French National Institute of Research and Safety (INRS). It allows for the
intensity of stress to be quantified according to a set of seven scores.
According to the INRS scale, 46.3% of the taxi drivers could be considered as
stressed. Moodiness and blood pressure problems were specifically identified as
indicators of stress in this population. These results should incite interest in
developing prevention measures in order to reduce or eliminate sources of stress
at work in order to decrease the number of traffic accidents related to stress,
and hence to improve the taxi drivers' working conditions.
Publication Types:
Comparative Study
English Abstract