Supportive Therapy to Reduce Anxiety Levels of COVID-19 Nurses in Isolation ICU Room

Abstract

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 for this year has had a negative impact on life, particularly the psychological impact of anxiety. Anxiety occurs in the general public and in health workers, one of which is a nurse. If anxiety continues, it will affect the quality of life and performance of nurses. Supportive therapy is one of the non-pharmacological treatments to reduce anxiety. AIM: This study was to determine the effectiveness of supportive therapy in reducing the anxiety of COVID-19 nurses in isolation ICU. METHODS: This study used quantitative research with a quasi-experimental design. The researcher wanted to know the effectiveness of a treatment, namely, supportive therapy, against the anxiety of the COVID-19 nurses of isolation ICU room. This study used a pre-post-test one-group intervention method. The therapy mechanism applied 1–4 sessions of supportive therapy by dividing each session into 3 days. Forty respondents participated in this study. The data obtained were analyzed using paired t-test. RESULTS: The results show that 55% of respondents experience moderate anxiety before supportive therapy, and 60% are not anxious after supportive therapy. It is also found that p = 0.000 is considered and lower than the alpha value of 0.05 (0.000 < 0.05). Therefore, there is a statistically significant difference before and after supportive therapy. CONCLUSION: The conclusion that can be drawn is the influence of supportive therapy on reducing anxiety in COVID-19 isolation ICU nurses.