Factors influencing nurses’ occupational stress while caring for COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study
Keywords:
COVID-19, Humans, Hospitals, Pandemics, Coping Skills, Patient CareAbstract
Background and aim of the work: In late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt the world, significantly affecting the healthcare system and straining healthcare workers, particularly nurses. As frontline providers, nurses face high exposure risks and immense stress while caring for patients. Throughout this crisis, many nurses have experienced heightened occupational stress due to increased workloads, fears of infection, and frequent protocol changes. This study aims to explore the various factors contributing to this occupational stress among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Public Regional General Hospital in Banda Aceh.
Materials and methods: A quantitative approach with a retrospective design was employed, involving a population of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19. We gathered responses from 65 participants using a total sampling technique by utilizing the Stress Factors and the Psychometric Evaluation of Healthcare Workers’ Stress Related to Caring for Patients with a Highly Infectious Disease Scale Developed (PEHWS-CPHIDSD) instruments. Finally, the Chi-Square test was used to analyze the data.
Results: The study found a strong correlation between the occupational stress experienced by nurses and various factors during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Regional General Hospital. It was found that the p-values for each factor were environmental (0.025), organizational (0.004), and individual (0.001). These results highlight the various stressors that nurses face and underscore the urgent need to address these challenges to enhance their mental health and job performance, particularly during such demanding times.
Conclusions: A significant correlation exists between environmental, organizational, and individual factors and the occupational stress experienced by nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. Future studies should investigate additional factors, such as gender, the use of coping strategies, and other variables that may influence stress levels in nurses when facing similar situations to help gain a better understanding of stressors in nursing practice
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