Investigation of the Psychological disorders in the healthcare nurses during a coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak in China

Work Stress and Willingness of Nursing Aides during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nursing aides (NAs) experienced greater work stress than they do typically because they worked in highly contagious environments. This may have influenced their work morale and willingness to work, which can reduce patient satisfaction, influence their physical and mental health, and even endanger patient safety or cause medical system collapse. Design: A cross-sectional survey with a structured self-report questionnaire was conducted. Setting and Participants: 144 NAs from a medical center in Central Taiwan participated. Methods: We recruited NAs through convenience sampling to discuss their work stress, willingness to work, and patients’ satisfaction with them during the COVID-19 pandemic. Result: Of the 144 recruited NAs, 115 (79.9%) were women and 29 (20.1%) were men, and 89 (61.8%) had completed COVID-19 training courses. NAs with different work tenure lengths exhibited significant differences in work stress (p = 0.022), willingness to work (p = 0.029), and patient satisfaction (p = 0.029) scores during the pandemic. Conclusion: The study findings provide crucial data for the management of NAs during pandemics to prevent them from neglecting patients due to excessive work stress or losing their willingness to work, which may cause the medical system to collapse.

The Work Environment during Coronavirus Epidemics and Pandemics: A Systematic Review of Studies Using Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs

We aimed to provide an overview of how work environment and occupational health are affected, and describe interventions designed to improve the work environment during epidemics and pandemics. The guidelines on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were followed. The databases Cinahl, Medline, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were searched for population: working population; exposure: coronavirus epidemic or pandemic; and outcome: work environment, in articles published until October 2020. Quality assessment was based on a modified version of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). After deduplication 3711 articles remained, of which 530 were selected for full-text screening and 119 for quality assessment. After the exclusion of studies that were low quality, 95 remained, of which 85 focused on healthcare personnel and 10 on employees in other industries; 73 used quantitative methods and 22 used qualitative or mixed methods; the majority were based on cross-sectional data. Healthcare staff experienced increased job demands, poor leadership, and lack of resources (personal protective equipment, personnel, and competence). High demands and work with infected patients were associated with negative mental health outcomes. There was a lack of studies assessing interventions, studies from industries other than healthcare, and studies of high quality.

[Intensive Care Nurses, Psychological Disorders and COVID-19. The COVID IMPACT NATIONAL STUDY]

La pandémie de la COVID-19 a mis les établissements hospitaliers sous tension. L’objectif de cette étude nationale est de déterminer la prévalence des troubles psychologiques dans le personnel soignant infirmier de réanimation. Nous avons élaboré un questionnaire électronique diffusé par mail entre le 17 juin et le 17 juillet 2020. Trois cent quatre vingt un professionnels exerçants en réanimation au moment de la pandémie (infirmiers de réanimation, infirmiers anesthésistes, infirmiers de bloc opératoire et cadres de santé) y ont répondu. L’Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale et l’Impact Event Scale Revisited ont été utilisées pour évaluer la prévalence de l’anxiété, de la dépression et du stress post-traumatique dans cette population. Les Infirmièr(e)s de bloc opératoire exerçant en réanimation sont celles qui ont le plus souffert de troubles psychologiques : trouble anxieux (64 %) (p = 0,055), trouble dépressif (45 %) (p = 0,004) et stress post-traumatique (45 %) (p = 0,008). Les infirmier(e)s travaillant habituellement en réanimation étaient les moins touchés : trouble anxieux (30 %), trouble dépressif (11 %) et stress post-traumatique (20 %). Les facteurs de risque de développer un trouble psychologique étaient le faible niveau de formation en réanimation, le fait d’exercer en réanimation contre son gré et d’avoir des antécédents de burn out. Cette étude permet d’établir un profil de professionnel à risque de développer des troubles psychologiques dans le contexte actuel. Les solutions envisageables sont de former le personnel et de proposer une prise en charge psychologique accessible et individualisée.

Nurses' perception of ethical challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative analysis

Nurses face several challenges in providing care for patients with coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19). The study aimed to explain the nurses' perception of ethical challenges in this regard. The qualitative study was carried out using a content analysis method. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 nurses. Inductive content analysis was used to categorize the data. Nurses' narratives indicated that ethical challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19 included threats to professional values ​​and the absence of a holistic COVID-19 care approach. The first category was subcategorized into the risk of declining quality of patient care and a stigmatized public image about COVID-19 care. The second category was divided into poor spiritual care, poor compassionate care, and lack of family-centered care. Health care managers must develop protocols for nurses that address these issues to alleviate the ethical challenges of COVID-19 care.