Knowledge and Psychological Stress Related to COVID-19 Among Nursing Staff in a Hospital in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background Since December 2019, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading worldwide. Nurses play a key role in fighting this disease and are at risk of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the mental health condition of nurses and establish appropriate interventions to reduce the negative psychiatric outcomes of the pandemic. Objective The objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge and psychological stress related to COVID-19 among nursing staff and to provide evidence of the need for targeted training and psychological intervention. Methods This cross-sectional web-based survey study was performed in a class 3 grade A general hospital in a southwest province of China from March 1 to March 15, 2020. A self-designed questionnaire with questions about COVID-19–related prevention and control knowledge and the Triage Assessment Form (TAF) were used to assess nursing staff’s knowledge of COVID-19 and their degree of psychological stress, respectively. SPSS 23.0 was applied for statistical analysis of the collected data. Results A total of 979 nurses completed the questionnaire. The results showed that the nursing staff provided the fewest correct answers to questions about continuous viral nucleic acid testing specifications (379/979 correct answers, 38.7%), isolation/discharge criteria (539/979 correct answers, 55.1%), and management measures for patients with suspected symptoms (713/979 correct answers, 72.8%). The median total score of the TAF was 7.0 (IQR 5.0-12.0), and there were statistically significant differences in scores between different nursing roles, years of work experience, and hospital departments (P<.05). Conclusions This study indicated that nursing staff have insufficient knowledge about COVID-19. Meanwhile, although the psychological damage to nurses during the pandemic was found to be low, nurse managers must continue to monitor the mental health of nursing staff and perform timely interventions.