Cognitive flexibility and flexibility in coping in nurses - the moderating role of age, seniority and the sense of stress

Identifying research priorities for infection prevention and control. A mixed methods study with a convergent design

Background

Meaningful research creates evidence for Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice.

Aim

To establish Infection Prevention Society (IPS) members' research priorities to support future research projects.

Methods

A mixed methods convergent parallel design incorporating a cross-sectional survey of IPS members (2022-2023), and focus group findings from the IPS Consultative Committee, (October 2022). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were transcribed verbatim, entered into NVivo 12, and analysed using a thematic analysis approach.

Findings/Results

132 IPS members responded to the survey, including 120 (90.9%) nurses. The three most prevalent priorities were: Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (n = 84, 16.1%); IPC Training and Education (n = 77, 14.8%); and IPC Evidence-based Guidelines (n = 76, 14.6%). Analysis of the focus group transcripts identified six emergent themes 'Patient Centred Care', 'Training and Education', 'IPC Role and Identity', 'IPC Leadership', 'IPC is Everyone's Responsibility', and 'Research Activity'. Triangulation of findings demonstrated concordance between quantitative and qualitative findings with Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) and Training and Education identified as priority research areas.

Discussion

This study highlights the necessity of developing support systems and incorporating research priorities in QIPS, as well as Training and Education. The findings of this study align with the recommended core competencies and components for effective infection prevention and control programs, making them relevant to QIPS initiatives. The outcomes of the study will serve as a valuable resource to guide the IPS Research and Development Committee in delivering practical support to IPS members.

The impact of psychological distress, socio-demographic and work-related factors on coping strategies used by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aimed to determine factors associated with coping strategies used by nursing staff during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 365 nurses were selected from referral hospitals for COVID-19 patients in Tabriz, Iran between February 2022 and July 2022. An online self-administered questionnaire was distributed through social media platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram. The survey package included a modified Brief COPE scale, socio-demographic and work-related questions, and a measure of psychological distress. Multiple regression analysis examined associated factors with coping strategies in SPSS. The study adhered to the STROBE guidelines for reporting.

RESULTS

The mean age of participants was 31.2 (7.3) years old. Of the 365 participants, 209 (58.9%) used maladaptive coping strategies, and 214 (57.6%) reported experiencing psychological distress. Psychological distress was the strongest predictor of maladaptive coping strategies (β = 4.473, p < 0.001). Female nurses (β = 3.259, p < 0.05), nurses who were under 35 years of age (β = 3.214, p < 0.05), nurses with fewer than ten years of experience (β = 2.416, p < 0.001), those who worked in COVID-19 ICUs (β = 4.321, p < 0.001), floor nurses (β = 2.344, p < 0.001), and those who worked two or more years in COVID-19 settings (β = 3.293, p < 0.001) had higher mean scores in maladaptive coping strategies.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contributions.

Work anxiety factors, coronavirus anxiety and job satisfaction of Polish nurses facing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak

BACKGROUND

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as in past disasters and emergencies, nurses around the world play an important role. What is more, the unprecedented pressure exerted by the pandemic on healthcare systems in every country brings big challenges to nurses, which may affect their well-being, work efficacy and job satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the presented studies was to describe anxiety factors related to the work of nurses during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; to assess the intensity of coronavirus anxiety and job satisfaction experienced by nurses at that time; to assess predictors of job satisfaction of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic; to assess the differences in the intensity of job satisfaction and coronavirus anxiety depending on the selected variables related to their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

Anonymous questionnaire surveys were conducted online among the participants between 23 June 2020 and 23 March 2022 in Poland.

PARTICIPANTS

433 nurses from 15 Polish provinces were included in the studies (age range 22-68; M = 41.63). Nursing seniority M = 18.6.

METHODS

The studies were based on: Satisfaction with Job Scale (SSP), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), and a self-report structured questionnaire.

RESULTS

The most respondents indicated that they were afraid of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 (25.4 %), transmitting infection to the family (22.4 %), becoming sick with COVID-19 and experiencing health complications (6.7 %) and of excessive work responsibilities and physical fatigue (6.5 %). Based on the bivariate correlation, it can be concluded that job satisfaction of the respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic was on an average level (M = 19.9); coronavirus anxiety was on an average level (M = 4.9), and stress at work was on a high level (M = 7.1). Coronavirus anxiety did not constitute statistically significant predictors of job satisfaction of subjects studied during the pandemic (SE = 0,048; β = 0,05; p = 0.942).

CONCLUSIONS

Coronavirus anxiety wasn't associated with job satisfaction of nurses directly. Job satisfaction of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was likely to be shaped by a range of different factors.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

In Polish nurses coronavirus anxiety was average and wasn't associated with their job satisfaction.

The effect of cognitive flexibility in nurses on attitudes to professional autonomy

BACKGROUND

Professional autonomy, which directly affects the quality of professional nursing in patient care, and cognitive flexibility, which is an important factor for adaptation to change and developing nursing roles, are important concepts for nursing.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This research was carried out to determine the effect of cognitive flexibility on attitudes towards professional autonomy in nurses.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This was a descriptive study.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

The research was conducted with 415 nurses working in a city hospital of a province, meeting the inclusion criteria and agreeing to participate in the study. A questionnaire form, The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI), and the Attitude Toward Professional Autonomy Scale for Nurses (APASN) were used to collect data.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Ethical approval was obtained from the university ethics committee before starting the study. Institutional permission was obtained from the city hospital where the study was conducted. Electronic informed consent was obtained from the nurses included in the study.

FINDINGS

In the study, the mean CFI score was 80.62 ± 11.55 and the mean APASN score was 70.42 ± 18.79. There was a weak positive correlation (r = 0.270; p < 0.05) between CFI and APASN scores. Moreover, the effect of the CFI mean score on the APASN mean score was found to be statistically significant (β = 0.278; p < 0.001). Furthermore, CFI explains 7.7% of APASN.

CONCLUSION

In the study, nurses' attitudes towards professional autonomy and cognitive flexibility scores were found to be at a good level. Cognitive flexibility has a positive effect on attitudes towards professional autonomy. Interventional studies that will increase the level of cognitive flexibility are recommended in the development of nurses' attitudes towards professional autonomy.

Diagnostics of psychological flexibility and the ability to cope with the inevitable changes among psychology students

The study concerns the question of how much the emotional competence and the ability to cope with problems in one's own personality increase in the process of professional psychological education, for which students of different years of study were tested. The aim of this study is to deeply diagnose various components of psychological flexibility and the ability to cope with unexpected events among psychology students. The study involved 30 students from 1 to 4 years of university grade level participated into study, divided into 4 equal groups from. Based on testing various aspects of psychological flexibility, emotional intelligence test (EQ test), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and D.V. Lyusin emotional intelligence instrument (Emin) were used; it was tested using Student's t-test and Kruskal-Wallis H-test to evaluate differences between three or more samples simultaneously. As a result of the study, the significant differences between all groups of participants and between the assessment of individual factors of psychological flexibility in different groups was accepted. Each of the groups demonstrated its specific characteristics of the relationship between emotional competence and coping with stress. Comparison of the results of students from different years of study showed that psychological education does not have a significant effect on emotional intelligence as an indicator of emotional flexibility, but positively affects the development of coping with stress, although in predominantly passive forms. The practical application of the research lies in improving psychology students' learning; the research results can be used as methods for determining psychological flexibility factors that require development in study groups.

The role of cognitive flexibility in moderating the effect of school-related stress exposure

Educators are exposed to various stressful events as part of their ongoing work, including violence, sexual assaults, suicidal behavior, and loss or illness of students or their family members. Previous studies revealed an increased risk of developing PTSD symptoms in healthcare and supportive professionals exposed to repeated stress as part of their work. Cognitive flexibility might be a protective factor against the negative effect of such stress. The current study aimed to examine the interactive effects of school-related stress exposure and cognitive flexibility on the tendency to develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the coping abilities of educators. One hundred and fifty educators (86.5% female; M_age = 43.08, M_{teaching_experience} = 12.90) volunteered to participate in this study. They completed questionnaires measuring levels of stress exposure, cognitive flexibility, coping ability, and PTSD symptoms. Analyses revealed that cognitive flexibility moderated the relationship between school-related stress exposure and both PTSD symptoms severity and maladaptive coping. Specifically, whereas educators with low cognitive flexibility exhibited positive associations between continuous stress exposure and both levels of PTSD symptoms and maladaptive coping, no such association was found among educators with high cognitive flexibility. The results highlight the importance of cognitive flexibility as a protective factor against the harmful effects of possible stress exposure in school environments. Awareness of the crucial role of cognitive flexibility as a protective factor for educators can be a breakthrough in improving educators' well-being and adaptive functioning.

The relationship between cognitive flexibility and happiness among nurses

PURPOSE

To determine the relationship between nurses' cognitive flexibility and happiness and the factors affecting them.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A Nurse Information Form prepared by the researchers, a Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire Short Form were administered to 722 nurses working at the Istanbul Medical Faculty Hospital. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study.

RESULTS

Nurses' cognitive flexibilities had a positive and significant relationship with happiness (p < 0.05). The power of explaining happiness was R²  = 28.6% for cognitive flexibility.

CONCLUSION

Regarded as a significant factor for people's happiness, the impact of cognitive flexibility on nurses' happiness was examined in this study.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is recommended to develop educational programs that improve the cognitive flexibility of nurses.

Coping strategies at the frontline of care: Comparisons between Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 units' nurses and the role of moderator variables

INTRODUCTION

Relatively few studies focused on the coping strategies adopted by the healthcare workers during the second phase of the pandemic. The present study compared the coping strategies between Italian nurses working in Covid-19 and in other units and it explored whether socio-demographic and work-related variables moderate the relation between the type of unit and coping strategies.

METHODS

A web-based questionnaire that included sociodemographic and work-related questions and the Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced-New Italian Version-25 item was administered. Moderation effects between variables and coping strategies were analyzed using generalized linear models.

RESULTS

253 nurses participated. Nurses who worked in a Covid-19 unit had significantly lower scores on Avoidance Strategies subscale and higher scores on Positive Attitude and Social Support subscales than nurses working in other units.

DISCUSSION

Gender differences emerged only on the social support coping dimension, with women being more likely to adopt social support than men. No association between the type of unit and the other coping strategies was found.

CONCLUSION

Nurses working in Covid-19 units showed better coping strategies than their colleagues: this suggests that support interventions aimed to promote coping strategies should be offered also to Covid-19-free units' nurses.

Impact of COVID-19 on Undergraduate Nursing Education: Student Perspectives

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken higher education in general into unprecedented times. The rapid transition from in-person to online teaching and learning proved to be difficult for students, educators, and administrators. It could be argued that medical and nursing education had an even more difficult task of determining how to effectively teach the provision of health care-a fundamentally in-person, hands-on endeavor-online. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact that COVID-19 had on undergraduate nursing education and identify lessons learned as a result. Nursing student perspectives from 2 Midwestern universities were compiled and analyzed to identify challenges, interventions performed, and key lessons learned.

K, Janis MA. Personality, cognitive flexibility, and motivation among medical professionals during covid-19 pandemic: a correlational study

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare professionals worldwide, by bringing changes in both their personal and professional lives. Motivation has become a driving factor along with cognitive flexibility during such demanding situations. Little importance has been given to the personality dimension while assessing these aspects, especially in the Indian context. The principal aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between personality, cognitive flexibility, and motivation among medical professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic. A correlational research design was used to conduct the research, and a snowball sampling technique was used to collect the data from a sample size of 204 medical professionals, consisting of 101 nurses and 103 doctors, working as frontline workers. The variables were assessed using the Neo Five-Factor Inventory, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Questionnaire. A nonparametric test of correlation was used. The research findings revealed that among medical professionals, certain personality factors, cognitive flexibility, and motivation share a significant relationship. Cognitive flexibility and motivation were found to be significantly correlated. There was no significant difference in cognitive flexibility and motivation among doctors and nurses. There was a significant difference in neuroticism between the groups. The findings will help in gaining a clearer insight into the needs of medical professionals in India, by facilitating the development of appropriate training interventions for medical professionals to be better equipped for similar crisis situations in the future.

The Effort-Reward Model and Its Effect on Burnout Among Nurses in Ecuador

Burnout has harmful consequences for individuals and organizations. The study of its antecedents can help us to manage and prevent it. This research aims to explore the role of the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model as well as the mediation of the working experience in the burnout processes. For this purpose, we have conducted a study in 629 employees from two hospitals in the city of Guayaquil (Ecuador). For this study, the Spanish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was applied, as well as the ERI Questionnaire, along with other socio-demographical and occupational variables. A statistical analysis was performed with the obtained data, using structural equation models (SEMs). Results showed that employee effort has a stronger and statistically significant direct effect on emotional burnout, whereas the perception of the obtained reward also had this effect but indirectly in a negative sense, with job experience as a mediating variable.