Elsevier

Nursing Outlook

Volume 69, Issue 5, September–October 2021, Pages 744-754
Nursing Outlook

The psychosocial impact on frontline nurses of caring for patients with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in New York City

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.03.019Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The more that nurses cared for patients the higher the nurses’ depression and anxiety.

  • Both home-work and work- home conflict were associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety.

  • Perceived mastery had the strongest negative correlation with depression and anxiety.

  • When asked what has helped the nurses to carry out their care of patients the most common responses were co-worker support, training in proper PPE, and support from family/friends.

  • Fewer than one quarter of the nurses reported that their profession nursing education was helpful in caring for the COVID population.

Abstract

Background

Infectious disease pandemics, such as COVID-19, have dramatically increased in the last several decades.

Purpose

To investigate the personal and contextual factors associated with the psychological functioning of nurses responding to COVID in the New York City area.

Method

Cross sectional data collected via a 95-item internet-based survey sent to an email list of the 7,219 nurses employed at four hospitals.

Findings

2,495 nurses responded (RR 35%). The more that nurses cared for COVID patients as well as experienced home-work conflict and work-home conflict the higher the nurses' depression and anxiety. When asked what has helped the nurses to carry out their care of patients the most common responses were support from and to co-workers, training in proper PPE, and support from family/friends.

Discussion

Understanding the potential triggers and vulnerability factors can inform the development of institutional resources that would help minimize their impact, reducing the risk of psychological morbidity.

Keywords

Nurse's role
Epidemics
COVID-19
Anxiety
Depression

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