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

Abstract

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.