Fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, general health and quality of life among baccalaureate nursing students at one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed method study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in people’s lives via protective strategies aimed at limiting the transmission of COVID-19, including social distancing, lockdowns, cancelled or limited leisure activities and tutorials and supervision for students taking place digital. All of these changes may have influenced students’ health and quality of life (QOL).Aim: To describe and explore fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, as well as general health and QOL, among baccalaureate nursing students at 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: We used a mixed method study design, including quantitative data from one university in southern Norway that was a part of a national survey of baccalaureate nursing students and qualitative data from focus group interviews from the same university. The quantitative data were collected using well-validated measures of fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, general health and QOL, and the data were analysed using the ANOVA-tests for continuous data and chi-square tests for categorical data. The qualitative data were analysed using systematic text condensation.Results: The quantitative survey included 396 baccalaureate nursing students (response rate: 46%). The mean score (standard deviation [SD]) for fear of COVID-19 was 2.32 (0.71), for psychological distress was 1.53 (1.00), for general health was 3.51 (0.96) and for overall QOL was 6.01 (2.06).Five focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 23 students (7 men, 16 women). In the qualitative data, we identified the overarching theme effect of COVID-19 on students’ QOL and the three main themes; importance of personal relations, physical health challenges and mental health challenges.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced negatively nursing students’ QOL and physical and mental health, and they often felt lonely. However, most of the participants also adapted strategies and resilience factors to cope with the situation. Via the pandemic situation, the students learned additional skills and mental mindsets that may be useful in their future professional lives.

Through the Lens of the Social Determinants of Learning™: Experiences of Online Prenursing Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Participants verbalized fears of becoming sick with COVID-19 and encountered health challenges related to contracting the virus. This is consistent with findings from a mixed-methods study of nursing students by Rhode et al (2022). In that study, students' fears about getting the virus were higher than the general population, and physical health challenges emerged as a theme of students' lived experiences in the first year of the pandemic.…”