Coping with the Burden of Care through Effective Management of Stress: A Study among Nurses in Selected COVID-19 Isolation Hospitals in the United Arab Emirates

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/12815

Keywords:

burden of care, management of stress, COVID-19 isolated hospitals, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The burden of providing care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic escalated stress among nurses, which affected their mental health, and called for effective coping. The goal of this study was to correlate the burden of caregiving with the management of stress by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates. We conducted this cross-sectional correlational study among the nurses in two hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. A non-probability voluntary sample (n = 64) was taken of nurses working in the intensive care unit (n = 41) and isolation wards (n = 24). The respondents completed two questionnaires via Google Forms, namely, the Professional Care Team Burden Scale and the 15-item Stress Management Inventory. The findings indicate that the nurses reported moderate (37.5%) to low (62.5%) levels of the burden associated with caregiving. There was a significant inverse correlation between the burden of care and three elements of the stress management inventory, namely developing resiliency (r = −.284, p = .023), short-term coping (r = −313, p = .012), and effective delegation (r = −.395, p = .001). However, there was no correlation between the burden of care and eliminating stressor elements. The findings suggest that when nurses increased their resilience, short-term coping strategies and effective delegation they tended to experience less burden of caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore recommend that health policymakers focus on supporting resilience, short-term coping strategies and effective delegation in the nursing work environment to reduce the burden of caregiving.

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Author Biographies

Rose Ekama Ilesanmi, RAK College of Nursing

Assistant Professor, RAK College of Nursing, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan. Ibadan, Nigeria.

Carol Avil Mathias, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University

Senior Lecturer – Psychology, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Victoria Funmilayo Hanson, RAK College of Nursing

Assistant Professor, RAK College of Nursing, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, Ras   Al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirate.

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Published

2023-03-02

How to Cite

Ilesanmi, Rose Ekama, Carol Avil Mathias, Victoria Funmilayo Hanson, and Eman Abdelaziz Rashad Dabou. 2022. “Coping With the Burden of Care through Effective Management of Stress: A Study Among Nurses in Selected COVID-19 Isolation Hospitals in the United Arab Emirates”. Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery 24 (3):14 pages. https://doi.org/10.25159/2520-5293/12815.
Received 2022-12-20
Accepted 2023-01-22
Published 2023-03-02