Psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and nurses' coping mechanisms: A correlational study

Abstract

Many nurses have suffered mental health problems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses' workload and stress have increased as they care for infected patients and their families. Lockdowns and quarantines have exacerbated the problem, causing psychological distress. To determine the psychological impact of COVID-19 on hospital nurses and their coping mechanisms. A cross-sectional design and convenience sampling study using the original impact event scale (IES) and stress scale (SS) in the analysis. A total of 241 nurses from government and private hospitals in the Hail region of Saudi Arabia participated voluntarily. Most respondents were female (96.7%), 31-40 years old (48.1%), married (61.8%), dominant participants were Filipino nurses (47.7%), the majority worked in private hospitals (54.8%), and those with more than ten years of hospital experience were the largest group (39.4%). COVID-19 had a significant psychological impact on 81.33% of the respondents and a severe impact on 9.5%. The respondents' coping mechanisms are adaptive (MS=37.56, STD=4.02) in terms of complete problem-solving (MS=14.76, STD=2.93) and symptom management (MS=8.93, STD=1.90). There is a significant relationship between psychological impact and coping mechanisms, specifically in terms of social support (p-value-0.000) and symptom management (p-value-0.047). Healthcare institutions should prioritize programs to support nurses, especially during outbreaks, as this can improve patient outcomes and care for all. Healthcare workers need social support and adaptability training from policymakers to cope with stress and uncertainty.