The impact of COVID‐19 pandemic‐related stress experienced by Australian nurses

Abstract

Globally, the impact of COVID‐19 on healthcare workers' mental health has been a major focus of recent research. However, Australian research involving nurses, particularly across the acute care sector, is limited. This cross‐sectional research aimed to explore the impact of pandemic‐related stress on psychological adjustment outcomes and potential protective factors for nurses ( n = 767) working in the Australian acute care sector during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Nurses completed an online questionnaire with psychometrically validated measures of pandemic‐related stress, psychological adjustment outcomes (depression, anxiety, and subjective well‐being), and protective factors (posttraumatic growth and self‐compassion). Descriptive analyses revealed that pandemic‐related stress was reported by 17.7% of the participants. Psychological adjustment outcome scores above normal for depression (27.5%) and anxiety (22.0%) were found, and 36.4% of the participants reported poor subjective well‐being. Regression analyses suggest that pandemic‐related stress predicted greater depression ( B = 0.32, SE = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [0.28, 0.35]) and anxiety ( B = 0.26, SE = 0.01, 95% confidence interval [0.24, 0.29]) and less subjective well‐being ( B = −0.14, SE = 0.01, 95% confidence interval [−0.16, −0.12]). Self‐compassion weakened the relationship between pandemic‐related stress and greater depression, however, exacerbated the relationship between pandemic‐related stress and less subjective well‐being. Posttraumatic growth reduced the negative relationship between pandemic‐related stress and psychological adjustment outcomes. These findings will inform strategies to facilitate psychological resources that support nurses' psychological adjustment, enabling better pandemic preparedness at both an individual and organizational level.

‘I was prepared to become infected as a frontline medical staff’: A survey of Australian emergency department staff experiences during COVID‐19

“…Our finding, that 57% of respondents reported additional work‐related stress, is consistent with the finding that 56.5% of nurses and midwives experienced anxiety working in New South Wales between May and June 2020 24,26 . Although healthcare workers are considered at greater risk for developing PTSD, 27 reassuringly, only 1% of our respondents reported this – lower than the 20% found by a review of mental health‐related disorders among healthcare workers during COVID‐19 28 .…”

“…Forty‐six percent of respondents continue to suffer with burnout – higher than the 32% identified by a systematic review of issues facing frontline healthcare workers in epidemics and pandemics 23 . The proportion of respondents reporting anxiety in our survey (36%) is higher than that study (25%), and it is also higher than the proportion reported in a study of Australian nurses working in the New South Wales acute care sector (18%) 24 . The discrepancy may be explained by the different timings of the surveys.…”

“… 23 The proportion of respondents reporting anxiety in our survey (36%) is higher than that study (25%), and it is also higher than the proportion reported in a study of Australian nurses working in the New South Wales acute care sector (18%). 24 The discrepancy may be explained by the different timings of the surveys. Our survey was conducted during the second wave of the pandemic in Australia, while the survey in New South Wales was conducted during the post‐second wave period (September to November 2020).…”

Finding the positives from the COVID-19 pandemic: factors associated with posttraumatic growth among nurses in Hong Kong

“…This study examined the psychosocial correlates of PTG among nurses in Hong Kong amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the same measurement scale (PTGI-SF), our sample reported a similar mean score in PTG with dental practitioners in Israel, France, and Canada (Uzil et al, 2021 ), psychotherapists in the United States (Aafjies-van Doorn, Bekes, Luo, Prout, & Hoffman, 2021 ), and nurses working in the Australian acute care sector (Aggar et al, 2021 ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the score was lower than those reported in Chinese and Taiwanese nurses coping with the COVID-19 pandemic (Chen et al, 2020 ) and healthcare professionals in Spain (Moreno-Jimenez et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Evidence of reliability of the PTGI-SF was found among nurses in China and Taiwan during the COVID-19 pandemic (Chen et al, 2020 ). Regarding validity, PTGI-SF was associated with subjective well-being among nurses coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia (Aggar et al, 2021 ). The Cronbach’s alpha for this sample was .89.…”