Occupational stress assessment and psychological intervention in railway dispatchers

Objective The occupational stress of railway dispatchers was assessed and intervened to evaluate the intervention effect of occupational stress management training on the occupational stress and the psychological health level of these railway dispatchers.

Methods  The occupational stress inventory revised edition (OSI-R) was used to assess the occupational stress of railway dispatchers in 6 railway administration and the stress management training(SMT), including occupational stress cognitive behavior training and relaxation technique training, was used for pilot intervention on 21 railway dispatchers(as intervention group), while another 21 railway dispatchers were not intervened at the same railway administration(as control group). The SCL-90 and OSI-R scores were surveyed before and after intervention in both groups.

Results Compared with the norms, the scores of occupational role questionnaire (150.62 ±24.15) and personal resources questionnaire (124.01 ±19.68) of OSI-R scale of railway dispatchers were lower (P < 0.01), while the score of personal strain questionnaire (97.73 ±23.49)was higher(P < 0.01). Of the sub-items, the scores of responsibility sense, psychological strain and physical strain of these railway dispatchers were higher than the values of norms, and the differences were statistically significant(P < 0.01). After intervention, the railway dispatchers in the intervention group had lower scores of working environment and interpersonal strain than those surveyed before intervention(P < 0.05), while the score of self-care in the intervention group was higher than control group(P < 0.05) after intervention. However, the sub-items scores of SCL-90 scale in the intervention group had no statistical differences with those surveyed before intervention and those in the control group after intervention(P > 0.05).

Conclusion  The workload intensity of railway dispatchers was not high, while the occupational stress response was more serious, and the personal resources were limited. Psychological intervention had a certain effect on reducing the occupational stress level, but no effect on the psychological health level of railway dispatchers. Based on the individual intervention, organizational intervention, closely against work tension factors, should be the main direction to implement occupational stress intervention for railway dispatchers.