Evaluation of anxiety, depression, aggression, and life satisfaction of nurses working with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-infected patients

Background: Negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and aggression are among the factors that influence the level of perceived life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is related to physical and mental health and is an important component of human functioning. Nurses are particularly vulnerable to negative emotions due to their high-risk occupation and contact with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected individuals. Aim of the study: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between life satisfaction and levels of anxiety, depression, and aggression among nurses working with patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional observational study interviewed 110 individuals employed in two medical institutions in Opole and Lower Silesia Voivodeships between September and December 2021. Interviews were conducted using two standardized questionnaires, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Modified Version (HADS-M) and the Satisfaction with Life Survey (SWLS). Results: Analysis revealed that 26.3% (n = 29) of nurses working with SARS-CoV-2-infected patients had marked anxiety symptoms, whereas 5.5% (n = 6) of respondents had depressive disorders. There was no association between age and levels of anxiety (p = 0.153) or depression (p = 0.867), although the workplace had a significant effect on the severity of anxiety (p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (p = 0.019). Most respondents (66.4%, n = 73) described their life satisfaction as average. However, borderline depressive symptoms significantly impacted levels of perceived life satisfaction (p = 0.031). Conclusions: Nurses working in coronavirus disease (COVID) wards were more likely to show anxiety symptoms than signs of depression, while borderline depressive symptoms were more prevalent in those with low life satisfaction. Age and marital status did not affect the severity of anxiety or depression among respondents. These findings provide the basis for a deeper exploration of the issues and highlight the increasing need for more professional support.

Nurses' Quality of Life and Healthy Behaviors

Quality of life (QoL) is closely linked to the health status of the individual. In turn, health status strongly depends on lifestyle. Health behavior, which is defined as the actions and attitudes of a person that affect their physical and mental health, is one of many lifestyle components. The nursing community, which is exposed to a range of dangers associated with the job position and responsibilities of the nursing profession, has to contend with several negative impacts. This results in a decreased quality of life among the nursing staff and reduced effectiveness in providing care services to patients.

METHODS

This study was conducted using an online Google questionnaire, which was completed by 312 nurses nationwide. The questionnaire included questions about the respondents' socio-demographic survey and included the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI) by Juczyński and the WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire.

RESULTS

The mean QoL reported by respondents was 3.65 points (SD = 0.67), meaning that QoL ranked between good and average results. The respondents' mean rating of their own health was 3.58 points (SD = 0.79), indicating that they rated their health status between satisfactory and average. Low health-behavior prevalence was reported by 139 of the 312 survey participants (44.55%), while 111 respondents (35.58%) had average health-behavior prevalence and 62 (19.87%) had high health-behavior prevalence. Each of the QoL domains correlated significantly (p ˂ 0.05) and positively (r ˃ 0) with the total HBI score and all its subscales.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher quality of life improves the level of health behavior by nursing staff. Obesity lowers the quality of life in physical, psychological, and social domains. The psychological sphere was the best-rated quality of life domain by nurses. A good material situation for nurses has a positive effect on their quality of life.

Influence of Occupation on the Prevalence of Spinal Pain among Physiotherapists and Nurses

(1) Background: Neck pain (NP) and low back pain (LBP) are common musculoskeletal disorders, one of the major causes of disability globally. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of medical occupation (physiotherapist and nurse) on the prevalence of spinal pain, functional status and degree of disability. (2) Methods: a total of 544 people (462 females (84.9%) and 82 males (15.1%)), licensed to practice as a physiotherapist (n1 = 240 (44.1%)) or nurse (n2 = 304 (55.9%)) in Poland completed a special questionnaire designed by the authors of the study, and were assessed using the Neck Disability Index (NDI, Polish language version) and Revised Oswestry Disability Index (ODI, Polish language version). (3) Results: Compared to physiotherapists, nurses were older, shorter, had higher BMI, and longer work experience. In the whole study group, 30.2% of subjects reported NP, 17.7% reported thoracic pain (ThP) and 80.5% reported LBP. During working life, 90.9% of physiotherapists and 97.7% of nurses experienced spinal pain. Pain intensity measured with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was higher among nurses (mean 5.37) than among physiotherapists (mean 4.64). Nurses had a higher degree of disability caused by LBP and NP measured with ODI and NDI compared to physiotherapists. (4) Conclusions: Excessive strain of the spine associated with occupational activities has a strong impact on the intensity and frequency of spinal pain episodes. Physiotherapists and nurses mainly suffer from low back pain. Pain scores measured with VAS are higher in nurses than in physiotherapists.

Global Self-Esteem and Stress Intensity in a Group of Polish Nurses-A Mediatory Role of a Sense of Coherence

(1) Owing to their resistance resources, nurses can reduce the effects of stress, increase their commitment to work and improve their functioning in the face of challenges in the workplace. The aim of this study was to determine the mediatory role of a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness correlated with global self-esteem and the perceived stress intensity in a group of Polish nurses aged 45–55 years. (2) The research using the diagnostic survey method was conducted on a group of 176 nurses (M = 49.1; SD = 3.1) working in seven hospitals located in Olsztyn (Poland). The following were used for data collection: Perceived Stress Scale - PSS-10, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence (SOC-29) Questionnaire. (3) According to 21.02% of the nurses, their stress level at the workplace was low, 44.89% reported it was medium and 34.09% reported it was high. The self-esteem of nearly half of the nurses included in the study (48.30%) was at a medium level, 31.82% felt it was high and 19.89% felt it was low. The mediation analysis showed that a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness have a mediator status in a correlation between global self-esteem and stress intensity. However, their mediatory role is partial. It is desirable for safe work environment promotion programmes to reinforce nurses’ personal resources, which can be helpful in coping with stressors.

Nurses’ strategies for dealing with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: In view of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, it is important to study the activities undertaken by nurses to cope with stress. Aim of the study: The study’s main objective was to analyze strategies of coping with stress among nurses working in public and non-public medical institutions in Opolskie and Lubelskie provinces, Poland, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: The study group included a total of 155 nurses. The Mini-COPE questionnaire and the author’s original questionnaire were used in the study. Results: With increasing age, nurses coped with stress by using their sense of humor less often, seeking instrumental support, discharge of emotions, using psychoactive substances, and blaming themselves. Respondents with a master’s degree were more likely to cope with stress by positive reevaluation, turning to religion, and seeking emotional and instrumental support. Examining the effect of job tenure on the level of coping strategies revealed significant variation for active coping (p=0.0355), sense of humor (p=0.0024), seeking emotional support (p=0.0209), seeking instrumental support (p=0.0062), preoccupation with something else (p=0.0383), discharge (p=0.0075), psychoactive substance use (p=0.0097), and blaming oneself (p=0.0155). There was no significant variation in the effect of place of employment on stress coping strategies. Conclusions: During the pandemic, respondents managed stress mainly through active coping, planning, acceptance, positive reevaluation, and seeking instrumental support. As nurses age, they are more likely to use the strategy of turning to religion. Due to the growing problem of stress, it is necessary to identify and share information about ways to effectively cope with stress.

Role of Global Self-Esteem, Professional Burnout and Selected Socio-Demographic Variables in the Prediction of Polish Nurses' Quality of Life - A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

The aim of the study was to analyze the role of global self-esteem and professional burnout in predicting Polish nurses’ quality of life.

Materials and Methods

The research involved 1806 nurses who were employed in 23 hospitals in north-eastern Poland. Forty-seven percent of nurses, aged ≤44 years, were qualified to Group 1, while 53% of nurses, aged ≥45 years, were included in Group 2. A diagnostic survey was applied as a research method. For the collection of data, the WHOQoL-Bref questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Copenhagen Professional Burnout Inventory were used. For the statistical analysis, the significance level of P < 0.05 was adopted.

Results

Global self-esteem had a positive orientation towards the prediction of the quality of life among the younger nurse group in the psychological and social domains by explaining 20% (ßeta = 0.33; R² = 0.20) and 15% (ßeta = 0.28; R² = 0.15) of the result variation, respectively. In the older nurse group, personal burnout, which took a negative orientation in the somatic (ßeta = −0.33 R² = 0.19), social (ßeta = −0.37; R² = 0.17) and environmental domains (ßeta = −0.28; R² = 0.32), had the greatest share in predicting the quality of life.

Conclusion

There is a need for the implementation of professional burnout prevention programs, as professional burnout adversely affects the quality of life in the somatic, social and environmental domain, particularly in the older nurse group.