Work stress and its relationship with self-perception of health and job satisfaction, in teachers of an Educational Unit of Ibarra – Imbabura, 2025

Katherin Estefanía Benalcázar Vilatuña1, Gema Nathaly Molina Ormaza2 and William Saud Yarad Salguero3

1,2,3Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ecuador
1Email: kebenalcazarv@utn.edu.ec, 2Email: gnmolinao@utn.edu.ec and 3Email: wsyarad@utn.edu.ec
1 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8509-2431, 2 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3267-0258 and 3 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8710-033

Received: 16th Dec, 2025; Revised: 8th Feb 2026; Accepted: 12th Feb, 2026; Available Online: 28th Feb, 2026

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Teaching is a profession characterized by high occupational demands that frequently lead to elevated levels of work-related stress, negatively affecting job satisfaction and teachers' self-perception of health. These effects are particularly relevant in basic and secondary education, where teachers play a central role in students' academic and personal development.

Objective: To analyze the relationship between work stress, self-perceived health, and job satisfaction among teachers from a public educational institution in Ibarra, Imbabura, Ecuador.

Methods: A descriptive, non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with a sample of 65 teachers. Data were collected using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and the General Job Satisfaction Scale (NTP 394). Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation analyses were performed using SPSS version 26.0.

Results: High levels of perceived stress were observed in 55.4% of participants, while 67.7% reported moderate job satisfaction and 61.5% showed high self-perceived health. A strong negative correlation was found between work stress and job satisfaction (ρ = −0.696; p < 0.001), as well as between work stress and health self-perception (ρ = −0.585; p < 0.001). In contrast, a moderate positive correlation was identified between job satisfaction and health self-perception (ρ = 0.414; p = 0.001).

Conclusions: The findings confirm that work stress is significantly associated with lower job satisfaction and poorer self-perception of health among teachers. These results highlight the need for institutional strategies aimed at preventing occupational stress and promoting healthy work environments to improve teacher well-being and educational quality.

Keywords: Work stress; self-perception of health; job satisfaction; teachers; occupational health

How to cite this article: Benalcázar Vilatuña KE, Molina Ormaza GN and Yarad Salguero WS, Work stress and its relationship with self-perception of health and job satisfaction, in teachers of an Educational Unit of Ibarra – Imbabura, 2025. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(5s): 100-108. DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.5s.13