Nurses’ Work-Related Mental Health in 2017 and 2020—A Comparative Follow-Up Study before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of strain on healthcare organizations. Nurses account for over 50% of healthcare staff, and how nurses perform in their work is influenced by a number of human and work environmental factors. However, to our knowledge, there has not been a previous study with the intention to look at all areas that affect a sustainable working life and how these impact nurses’ mental well-being. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between, and the effect of, different factors in nurses’ work situations associated with nurses’ work-related mental-health diagnoses, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was sent out to all 9219 nurses in the Swedish county of Skane in the spring of 2017 and during wave two of the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020. The data were analyzed through logistic regression analysis. The results showed that lack of joy in the daily work, an increased workload and lack of support from co-workers had an increased association with work-related mental-health diagnoses. Future research regarding the long-term impact of COVID-19 on all areas of nurses’ professional and personal lives is needed.

Sustainable Healthy Working Life for All Ages—Work Environment, Age Management and Employability

“…A sustainable working life was stressed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on working life and the work environment. Nagel and Nilsson [16] used a questionnaire to investigate the association between, and the effect of, different factors in nurses' work situations, organised based on the SwAge-model theories of a sustainable working life, associated with nurses' work-related mental health diagnoses, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that lack of joy in the daily work, an increased workload, and lack of support from co-workers had an increased association with work-related mental health diagnoses.…”

Development and Psychometric Test of the Salutogenic Survey on Sustainable Working Life for Nurses: Identifying Resistance Resources against Stress

“…At the same time the shortage of nurses in Europe is so serious that it has been described as "a ticking time bomb" [7], especially in the case of specialised nurses [8], which is furthermore aggravated by the trend of nurses' motivation to leave the profession and workplace [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. It is therefore essential to not only avoid burnout [13,16], depression [17], and mental health problems among nurses [18], but also identify resistance resources against stress [19,20], enhancing resources for health [21], work-related "push and pull factors" [11], and even factors that make nurses thrive professionally [22,23], enabling nurses to remain in the profession and workplace.…”

Development and Psychometric Test of The Salutogenic Survey on Sustainable Working Life for Nurses: Identifying Resistance Resources Against Stress

“…At the same time the shortage of nurses in Europe is so serious that it has been described as "a ticking time bomb" [7], especially in the case of specialised nurses [8], which furthermore is aggravated by the trend of nurses' motivation to leave the profession and workplace [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. It is therefore essential to not only avoid burnout [13,16], depression [17] and mental health problems among nurses [18], but to identify resistance resources against stress [19,20], enhancing resources for health [21], work-related "push and pull factors" [11], and even factors that make nurses thrive professionally [22,23], that would enable nurses to remain in the profession and workplace.…”