Stress coping styles among anaesthesiology and intensive care unit personnel - links to the work environment and personal characteristics: a multicentre survey study

Emotional intelligence and coping strategies among intensive care unit nurses

BACKGROUND

Stress is an integral part of daily work for nurses, especially those who work in intensive care units (ICUs). However, chronic stress can affect nurses' mental and physical well-being, increasing their risk of burnout and decreasing the quality of care. A higher emotional intelligence (EI) level may be correlated with greater use of effective coping strategies, leading to a reduction of the adverse effects of stress.

AIM

This study aimed to examine the relationship between EI and coping strategies among adult ICU nurses in Poland.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey design was used. Current adult ICU nurses in nine Polish hospitals were invited to participate. The survey instruments used were: the Polish version of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test, the Inventory to Measure Coping Strategies with Stress (Brief-COPE), and a self-constructed questionnaire.

RESULTS

114/543 (21%) nurses completed the survey. ICU nurses showed an average level of EI (70.2%). The main stress coping strategies were active coping and planning, the rarest being substance use, behavioural disengagement, and denial. For nurses with a higher EI level, the most frequently used strategies included positive reframing (R = 0.43; p < .001), active coping (R = 0.38; p < .001), planning (R = 0.37; p < .001) and religion (R = 0.25; p = .006). Nurses were less likely to utilize strategies of behavioural disengagement (R = -0.32; p = .001) and self-blame (R = -0.40; p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

EI may have an impact on coping strategies, as a higher EI level was correlated with the greater use of effective coping strategies in ICU nurses.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Training in coping with stress and increasing EI may have a positive impact on reducing the risk of burnout in nurses and thus improving the quality of care delivered.

Quality of Life and Stress Levels in Patients under Home Mechanical Ventilation: What Can We Do to Improve Functioning Patients at Home? A Survey Study

BACKGROUND

Home mechanical ventilation (HMV) is becoming more widely available in many countries.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to measure the health-related quality of life and stress levels of patients ventilated mechanically at home. The relation between quality of life and stress levels was investigated including multiple regression analysis.

METHODS

100 patients treated with HMV in Poland were surveyed with the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10).

RESULTS

26% of patients assessed their quality of life as bad or very bad and 34% as good or very good. Stress levels measured with PSS-10 Scale were high level. For the group of patients with neurological disorders, stress levels were significantly higher than for the group of patients with pulmonological disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

The higher the stress levels of patients, the lower the quality of life in particular domains. Improving the living conditions of HMV patients can influence improving their quality of life.

Personality Traits and the Sense of Self-Efficacy among Nurse Anaesthetists. Multi-Centre Questionnaire Survey

Introduction: Anaesthesia and intensive care units are specific workplaces. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of the sense of self-efficacy and the intensification of personality traits in a group of nurse anaesthetists and to develop a regression model explaining the sense of self-efficacy. Method: The population of the questionnaire survey included nurse anaesthetists from five hospitals in south-eastern Poland. The NEO-FFI was used in assessing their personality traits. The general self-efficacy scale was employed for the self-efficacy assessment. A total of 143 correctly filled surveys were analyzed. Results: The respondents typically perceived their own self-efficacy level as upper moderate. The nurse anaesthetists participating in the study revealed a tendency to high scores in conscientiousness and extraversion, and low scores related to neuroticism. The persons characterized by high conscientiousness, extraversion and openness to experience revealed a tendency to high scores related to the sense of self-efficacy. The relationship between personality traits and experiencing the nuisance of selected stressful job factors was demonstrated. Regression analysis showed that conscientiousness and extraversion are most closely related to the sense of self-efficacy. Conclusions: It seems to be beneficial to implement occupational consulting for nurses, who are starting their work or/and taking into consideration working in anesthesiology and intensive care units. The importance of personality traits and self- efficacy in relation with well-being of medical personnel needs deeper investigations.

The Interactive Effects of Cognition on Coping Styles among Chinese during the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has seriously affected people's life. The main aim of our investigation was to determine the interactive effects of disease awareness on coping style among Chinese residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A total of 616 Chinese residents from 28 provinces were recruited to participate in this investigation. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics, cognition of COVID-19, and disease-related stress sources. Coping styles were assessed via the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ).

RESULTS

The survey showed that the main source of information on COVID-19 was different in relation to gender, age, educational level, and occupation (p < 0.001). People's knowledge of the disease, preventive measures, and stress factors were different in relation to demographic characteristics (p < 0.001). Compared with the baseline values, the scores of positive coping and negative coping based on SCSQ in relation to gender, age, educational level, and occupation were statistically significant (p < 0.001, except for participants older than 60 years). Different educational levels corresponded to statistical significant differences in positive coping (p = 0.004) but not in negative coping.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic, people with different characteristics had different levels of preventive measures' awareness, which influenced their coping styles. Therefore, during public health emergencies, knowledge of prevention and control measures should be efficiently provided to allow more effective coping styles.

Influence of the Youth's Psychological Capital on Social Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: The Mediating Role of Coping Style

BACKGROUND

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak has led to travel bans and restricted social contact. Sudden decrease of social activities can easily trigger social anxiety, especially for community youths. Existing studies have inconclusive results regarding whether the development of youths' social anxiety can be predicted by psychological capital. This study aims to clarify the influence mechanisms of psychological capital and coping style on social anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

METHODS

Overall 600 community youths with ages of 18-22 yr in Northeast China were randomly selected and voluntarily answered the online questionnaire survey in Mar 2020. General information questionnaire form, positive psychological capital questionnaire, social interaction anxiety scale, and simple coping style questionnaire were used to obtain the participants' information.

RESULTS

Psychological capital has a medium negative correlation with social anxiety, low positive correlation with positive coping (r = -0.42, 0.38), and low negative correlation with negative coping (r = -0.19). Social anxiety is negatively correlated with positive coping to a small degree and positively correlated with negative coping at a medium level (r = -0.16, 0.43). Positive coping has a low positive correlation with negative coping (r = 0.13). Positive coping and negative coping play partial mediating roles between psychological capital and social anxiety, with mediating effect values of -0.03 and 0.01, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Youth's psychological capital is closely associated with coping style and social anxiety. In addition to its direct bearing on social anxiety, psychological capital influences social anxiety through the mediating effect of coping style.