Stress and Coping Strategies Adopted by Nurses During COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Introduction: COVID 19 a global pandemic, over 30 million cases have been found in India (2020), with mortality of more than 4 lakhs. Studies revealed that more than 300000 health workers had been infected in
this outbreak & which had a grave impact on their physical and psychological health. Nursing staff have been the pillar of the healthcare system during this pandemic despite of long working hours in PPE kits, fear of getting infected and staying away from near ones. The burden of mental distress revealed the prevalence of depression (8.5%), anxiety (20.6%) and stress (6.3%). Hence it becomes essential to explore stress and
coping among Nurses, for preparing strategic planning for future waves of Corona Virus.
Materials & Methods: Following ethical clearance data was collected using a perceived stress scale & COPE inventory from 50 participants selected using non-probability purposive sampling. Nurses who have
worked in covid setups aged ≥ 25 years & willing to participate were approached for the study. A non-experimental cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted for data collection.
Results: Moderate level of stress was found in more than 86% of Nurses working in Covid set up and majority of them (86.7%) used coping strategies. The majority of the participants were in the age group 25 -30 years (48.3%), married (75%), had no children (25%) & had a family as a support system. Around 38% had 6 -10 years of service (38.3%) & had done COVID ICU duty (81.7%). 31.7% had worked on an average from 21-40 days in Covid set up & 58% of the participants felt that the provision of day offs was inadequate.
Discussion: Recent studies worldwide revealed that healthcare workers are positive for burnout, anxiety and depression which is alarming. Emotional and psychological support, incentives, appreciation and prompt identification of any psychiatric conditions may decrease the burden.
How to cite this article:
Dixit P, Chaithanya SK, Kumar S. Stress and Coping Strategies Adopted by Nurses During COVID-19
Pandemic. J Adv Res Psychol Psychother. 2022;5(3&4):1-5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2581.5822.202203
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