No abstract

This qualitative exploratory study explored nurses' mental health and coping strategies working with suspected and confirmed COVID‐19 patients in Brunei Darussalam. Eleven focus group discussions were conducted between October 2020 and January 2021, involving 75 participants. Three themes emerged: ‘COVID‐19 roller‐coaster transitional journey’ explained the different psychological responses of the journey of the nurses from merely hearing about COVID‐19 from far to the invasion of the virus and community outbreak in the country; ‘Mind my mind and heart’ share experiences of the nurses in terms of their mental health and emotional responses; and ‘the psychosocial system’ described the coping mechanisms of the nurses throughout the COVID‐19 pandemic. Nurses' mental health and coping strategies during the COVID‐19 pandemic influenced how they provided care and performed other tasks, which should not be taken for granted. Nurses employed psychosocial coping methods at the different phases of the COVID‐19 pandemic and support from family, friends, the public, and the governmental level. This research is fundamental as a basis for other countries to design psychological interventions during this yet unsettled COVID‐19 pandemic.

The prevalence of hypertension in Brunei is high in both women and men. Information campaigns and prevention programs are needed to be able to cope with the increasing problem of hypertension and resulting diseases like stroke in Brunei in the near future.