By: Sonia Arora
Tutor, College of Nursing, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Introduction: The pandemic has impacted not just physical health but also mental health and overall well-being. The psychological and emotional impact of Covid-19 is especially significant for healthcare workers, including nurses, due to their heightened exposure to the virus. This study was conducted to assess the psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline nurses involved in the care of covid-19 confirmed and suspected cases admitted in selected hospitals of Delhi during covid-19 outbreak. Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey design conducted online. A total of 262 frontline nurses caring for confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases were recruited using a purposive sampling method. Data was collected by socio-demographic tool, Impact of events scale-revised (IES-R) to measure psychological impact & Brief-COPE to measure the various coping strategies used by the frontline nurses. Data analysis was performed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Findings show that most of the respondents 140(53%) had minimal psychological impact in relation to Covid-19 outbreak. Around 32(12%) had mild psychological impact and 18(6.8%) had moderate psychological impact. However, 72(27%) reported severe psychological impact. Conclusion: Around one-third of front line nurses from study respondents have significant psychological impact. Most of the respondents were using adaptive type of coping strategies.
Keywords: Psychological impact, Coping strategies, Frontline nurses, Corona virus disease 2019(Covid-19), Covid-19 dedicated hospital.
Citation:
Refrences:
1. World Health Organization. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 – 11 March 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19—11-march-2020
2. Merriam-Webster Dictionary [Internet]. Merriam-webster.com. 2024 . Available from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pandemic
3. Amanullah S, McNally K, Zelin J, Cole J, Cernovsky Z. Are burnout prevention programs for hospital physicians needed?. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2017 Apr 1;26:66-9.
4. Gartlehner G, Forneris CA, Brownley KA, Gaynes BN, Sonis J, Coker-Schwimmer E, Jonas DE, Greenblatt A, Wilkins TM, Woodell CL, Lohr KN. Interventions for the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults after exposure to psychological trauma.
5. Cheng P, Kalmbach DA, Tallent G, Joseph CL, Espie CA, Drake CL. Depression prevention via digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: a randomized controlled trial. Sleep. 2019 Oct;42(10):zsz150.
6. Rose RD. Self-guided multimedia stress management and resilience training. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2014 Nov 2;9(6):489-93.
7. Smoktunowicz E, Lesnierowska M, Cieslak R, Carlbring P, Andersson G. Eficacy of an Internet-based intervention for job stress and burnout among medical professionals: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2019 Jun 10;20(1):338.
8. Mahase E. Covid-19. BMJ: British Medical Journal. 2020 Oct 19;371:1-3.
9. Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic–A review. Asian journal of psychiatry. 2020 Jun 1;51:102119.
10. Shaukat N, Ali DM, Razzak J. Physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: a scoping review. International journal of emergency medicine. 2020 Dec;13:1-8.
11. Munawar K, Choudhry FR. Exploring stress coping strategies of frontline emergency health workers dealing Covid-19 in Pakistan: A qualitative inquiry. American journal of infection control. 2021 Mar 1;49(3):286-92.
12. Si MY, Su XY, Jiang Y, Wang WJ, Gu XF, Ma L, Li J, Zhang SK, Ren ZF, Ren R, Liu YL. Psychological impact of COVID-19 on medical care workers in China. Infectious diseases of poverty. 2020 Dec;9:1-3.
13. Ornell F, Halpern SC, Kessler FH, Narvaez JC. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals. Cadernos de saude publica. 2020 Apr 30;36:e00063520.
14. Chatterjee SS, Bhattacharyya R, Bhattacharyya S, Gupta S, Das S, Banerjee BB. Attitude, practice, behavior, and mental health impact of COVID-19 on doctors. Indian journal of psychiatry. 2020 May 1;62(3):257-65.
15. Varshney M, Parel JT, Raizada N, Sarin SK. Initial psychological impact of COVID-19 and its correlates in Indian Community: An online (FEEL-COVID) survey. PloS one. 2020 May 29;15(5):e0233874.
16. Salman M, Mustafa ZU, Raza MH, Khan TM, Asif N, Tahir H, Shehzadi N, Mallhi TH, Khan YH, Sultana K, Saleem F. Psychological effects of COVID-19 among health care workers, and how they are coping: a web-based, cross-sectional study during the first wave of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness. 2023 Jan;17:e104.
