The role of workplace social capital on the relationship between perceived stress and professional identity among clinical nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak

Factors influencing nurses' compliance related to the use of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive cross-sectional study

AIM

To determine how nurses' experiences with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affected their knowledge, awareness, and compliance related to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea.

DESIGN

A descriptive cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 247 nurses in South Korea participated in this study between May 10 and 19, 2023. An online self-report questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic and occupational characteristics, COVID-19 experience, knowledge, awareness, and compliance related to the use of PPE. Factors affecting compliance were analysed using hierarchical multiple linear regression.

RESULTS

Mean age of the nurses was 31.92, and 94.3% were women. Most had a bachelor's degree or higher and the mean clinical experience as a nurse was 6.45 years. Knowledge of the use of PPE was 8.45 out of 10, awareness was 3.52 out of 5, and compliance was 4.28 out of 5. Knowledge and awareness were correlated with compliance related to PPE use. Awareness (β = 0.234, p < 0.001), knowledge (β = 0.218, p < 0.001), experience caring for COVID-19 patients (β = 0.234, p = 0.004), optional fourth dose vaccine (β = 0.150, p = 0.017), clinical experience (β = 0.140, p = 0.022), and COVID-19 infection control education (β = 0.115, p = 0.037) were found to have a significant impact on compliance.

CONCLUSION

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses' knowledge and awareness of PPE use was a crucial factor in compliance. factors such as clinical experience, experience in caring for COVID-19 patients, optional vaccination, and completion of COVID-19 education also influenced compliance. We hope that these factors can provide a basis for developing training programs for nurses to respond to future emerging infectious diseases.

Chronic stress and turnover intention of resident physicians after experiencing COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have explored the stress and turnover intention of healthcare workers, but as important backup talents in the healthcare system, resident physicians have received little attention from researchers, especially after experiencing COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the chronic stress and turnover intention of resident physicians after experiencing COVID-19.

METHODS

From June to August 2022, we conducted a questionnaire survey on resident physicians in the Children's Hospital of Hebei Province through the online platform (Wenjuanxing) to evaluate their chronic stress and turnover intention after experiencing COVID-19. For the collected data, we used frequency and percentage to make the statistical description, the Chi-square test to make a univariate analysis on the scores of chronic stress and turnover intention scale, and binary logistic regression analysis to explore the influencing factors of turnover intention.

RESULTS

Out of 143 respondents, we finally received 127 questionnaires, with a response rate of 88.81%. Among 127 respondents, 80.31% of resident physicians experienced varying degrees of chronic stress (mild: 36.22%, moderate: 35.43%, severe: 8.66%), and 74.80% of resident physicians showed varying degrees of turnover intention (mild: 23.62%, moderate: 37.79%, severe: 13.39%). Moreover, age (OR = 0.772, P = 0.042), identity (OR = 8.648, P = 0.021), and chronic stress levels (mild: OR = 6.938, P = 0.003; moderate: OR = 44.049, P < 0.003; severe: OR = 46.141, P = 0.004) can significantly affect turnover intention.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we reported a relatively high proportion of resident physicians with high chronic stress and high turnover intention after experiencing COVID-19. We suggest that the relevant departments should pay more attention to the resident physicians' group and formulate corresponding measures to solve the problems faced by the resident physicians and ensure the stability of the health human resources.

The impact of caring for COVID-19 patients on nurse professional identity: A cross-sectional study using propensity score analysis

Objective

To examine the impact of caring for COVID-19 patients on the professional identity of nurses.

Methods

An online survey was conducted between 19 May and 7 August 2020 in 11 Chinese cities, including Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Macao, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for confounding variables between nurses with and without experience caring for COVID-19 patients. To analyze the impact of caring for COVID-19 patients on nurses' professional identity, a nominal logistic regression model was used rather than an ordinal regression model because the parallel regression assumption was violated.

Results

After propensity score matching, the final sample contained 1,268 participants, including 634 nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients. During the COVID-19 outbreak, 88.6% of nurses had high levels of professional identity. Nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients had the lowest percentage of high score level on the professional identity subscale for "sense of organizational influence," as did nurses who did not care for COVID-19 patients. The findings indicated that nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients were 17.95 times more likely to have a high professional identity than a low professional identity (95% CI 2.38-135.39, p = 0.005), after completely controlling for the other factors. There were significant differences between nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients and those who did not in scores on the subscales of professional identity, except for the subscales "sense of self-decision-making" (χ² = 4.85, p = 0.089) and "sense of organizational influence" (χ² = 4.71, p = 0.095).

Conclusion

Nurses' professional identity is positively impacted by their experience caring for COVID-19 patients. Caring for COVID-19 patients should be highlighted as an opportunity to enhance nurses' professional identity. To further enhance the professional identity of nurses, we call for visible nursing leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and improve their working environment.

Perceived professional benefits and associated factors among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

AIMS

To examine the perceived professional benefits (PPB) and associated factors among nurses during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in China.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Using the snowball sampling method, 492 nurses (478 females, 14 males) were recruited. Data were collected using an online survey, including participants' socio-demographic and working characteristics, psychological distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing with professional frustration, professional self-reflection and PPB from 1-30 April 2020.

RESULTS

Nurses experienced high levels of PPB. In linear regression analysis, self-perceived concerns about COVID-19, emotional shock caused by it, risk perception towards their occupations, dealing with professional frustration and professional self-reflection were positively associated with PPB among nurses. These factors explained 84% variance in PPB.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlighted that although the nurses experienced psychological distress, they gained high PPB during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to facilitate nurses' efforts to achieve professional growth, more educational resources and opportunities for engaging in reflective practices could be provided.

Nurses' Workplace Social Capital and the Influence of Transformational Leadership: A Theoretical Perspective

Workplace social capital is the relational network, created by respectful interactions among members of a workforce, can contribute to the formation of a wholesome psychological work environment in an organization. Nurses' workplace social capital is a derivative of the workplace social capital, formed because of the complex interactions among the nursing and between the other healthcare professionals. Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that addresses the emotional wellbeing of its workforce and inspires shared group ethics, norms, and goals. The philosophy of transformational leadership is grounded on the premise of workforce as human beings with specific needs. Transformational leadership has been confirmed as a strong predictor of nurses' workplace social capital. Meanwhile, it is of an academic and/or healthcare industry operational value to scholarly assess and discern the theoretical influence of transformational leadership on nurses' workplace social capital. In this paper, we have attempted to explore the associations between transformational leadership and nurses' workplace social capital from a theoretical perspective. We have discussed the importance of each sub-dimension of transformational leadership (modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act and encouraging the heart) in building up the social capital relational network. Finally, we have proposed a graphic framework of our analysis to facilitate understanding of the associations between the transformational leadership and nurses' workplace social capital, in formation of a healthy work environment which is the foundation for efficiency and productivity of the workforce.

The changes in the nursing practice environment brought by COVID-19 and improvement recommendations from the nurses' perspective: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an opportunity to increase investment in the nursing practice environment, which has greatly impacted patients, nurses, and organizations. However, there were limited studies concerning the changes in the practice environment since the COVID-19 pandemic and the way to improve it from nurses' perspectives.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 nurses from seven hospitals in Sichuan, China. Both the quantitative and qualitative data were collected from an online questionnaire. The quantitative data were collected using the Chinese version of the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index and compared with available norms in 2010. The qualitative data were collected through an open question following the scale and analyzed by content analysis.

RESULTS

The mean of the score of the practice environment scale was 3.44 (SD = 0.56) out of 4.00. The score of the total scale and the dimensions were significantly higher than the norms, apart from nurse-physician relations and nurse participation in hospital affairs. The qualitative findings revealed positive changes in nursing foundations for quality of care, nurse participation in hospital affairs and nurse-physician relations, and poor staffing and resource adequacy. The improvement in the working model and ward environment is the primary concern of nurses.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic brought some positive changes in the nursing practice environment, but more efforts are needed to solve those nagging and important problems, such as staff shortages and low participation. Nursing managers and hospital leaders were encouraged to listen to nurses' concerns and value this suitable opportunity for changing and improving to achieve better health services and coping ability to deal with emergency events going forward. Improving the ward environment and taking a professional model instead of sticking to the tedious process might be worthwhile.

Three Mental Health Symptoms of Frontline Medical Staff Associated With Occupational Stressors During the COVID-19 Peak Outbreak in China: The Mediation of Perceived Stress and the Moderation of Social Support

The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic has increased work demands for medical staff and has a certain impact on their mental health. The present study aimed to examine the role of perceived stress and social support in explaining the association between the occupational stressors and three mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, and insomnia) of frontline medical staff. Five hundred twenty five frontline medical staff were investigated online after the outbreak of the COVID-19 (16 February, 2020-2 March, 2020) in China. The results found that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and insomnia among frontline medical staff were 39.8, 29.9, and 37.9%, respectively. Occupational stressors were associated with anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms. Perceived stress significantly mediated this link. Social support moderated the second half of the indirect effect of occupational stressors on anxiety and depression symptoms. Under the epidemic situation of COVID-19, for frontline medical staff, high perceived stress and low social support may increase vulnerability for mental health symptoms triggered by occupational stressors. Thus, improving the social support and promoting the cognitive reappraisal of perceived stress may help to maintain mental health among medical staff.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identity of Massage Therapists: The Reporting of a Quantitative Strand of a Mixed-Methods Study

Introduction: In late 2019, a pathogen outbreak occurred that rapidly spread, resulting in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Governments responded to the pandemic with a range of strategies, including forced quarantines and nationwide lockdowns. Research on professional identity during the pandemic has predominately focused on health care providers declared as "essential" rather than "nonessential." In this study, the authors examine the impacts on the professional identity of massage therapists (MTs) who were predominately deemed as nonessential health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: An online, questionnaire-based study sought to answer "In what ways has the professional identity of MTs in Canada and Australia been impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic?" MTs in Canada and Australia were recruited using convenience sampling through e-mail and social media. A questionnaire was developed and pilot tested before implementation. Results: Six hundred and forty-nine MTs participated (329 from Canada and 316 from Australia). Known constructs of professional identity that were affected during the pandemic included not feeling respected as a health care practitioner, feeling less professional than other health care providers, and experiencing burnout. New constructs that may have developed out of the pandemic and the measures established to manage them included being classified as nonessential and feeling a sense of camaraderie and belonging. Conclusions: This study is the first of its kind to report the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the professional identity of MTs. The emerging constructs reported will be used to create interview questions for the subsequent qualitative strand of this explanatory mixed-methods study. In the qualitative study, respondents will be invited to share their experiences with their own voice to further the understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MTs' professional identity.

Digital knowledge sharing and creative performance: Work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing requirements have led to major disruptions in the world of work. The outcomes of the enforced and large-scale work from home (WFH) practices are currently largely unexplored. This study aims to address this gap in the research by investigating the external and internal digital knowledge sharing (DKS) and creative performance (CP) of employees under these extraordinary circumstances. The social capital theory was utilized as the theoretical lens for examining the associations of DKS and CP with demographic, individual, and organizational factors. An online cross-sectional survey was carried out among knowledge workers based in Norway during the pandemic lockdown. The study results indicate that internal and external DKS are significant predictors of CP in the WFH context during the COVID-19 pandemic. Females and older employees are more likely to engage in external DKS than their counterparts. Furthermore, individual motivation is found to be positively associated with internal DKS, external DKS, and CP. The findings suggest that increased use of digital platforms helps increase CP in the WFH setting resulting from the pandemic. Various theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research avenues are proposed.

Changing trends of mental and behavioral responses and associations during the COVID-19 epidemic in China: a panel study

This prospective observational study examined changing trends in mental and behavioral responses, and their association with perceived risk, severity, self-efficacy and isolation status during the Chinese COVID-19 epidemic. There were five waves of interviews. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric test methods were used for data analysis. Participants numbered 150 for the linkable baseline survey and 102 completed all 5 survey waves and were included in the analysis. Mental stress, emotional status and lifestyle manifested a statistically significant downwards trend across the total period of this panel study. The number of reported new confirmed patients perceived high risk and perceived severity were positively associated with mental stress, emotional status and lifestyle. Self-efficacy was negatively associated with each type of mental and behavioral response. The more time people were confined to their home, the more serious the emotional and lifestyle problems. Dose-response relationships were noted between the number of reported new confirmed patients and mental stress, emotional status and lifestyle during the five observation points. This study yielded new information about mental and behavioral responses among Chinese people during the COVID-19 epidemic. Policy changes and health education are essential for minimizing the adverse health effects of these responses.