Depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in nurses with and without symptoms of secondary traumatic stress during the COVID-19 outbreak

Background: Nurses tend to experience a lot of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) during the outbreak of the COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of STS and comparing depression, anxiety, and Suicidal Ideation (SI) in nurses with and without STS symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak.Method: The research method of this study was descriptive-comparative. The statistical sample consisted of 315 nurses working in hospitals of Malayer city, western Iran, selected through census method. Data were collected using the STS Scale, Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-13), Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and SI scale. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA).Results: This study showed that 161 nurses (51.11%) had symptoms of STS. The prevalence of STS symptoms in nurses in emergency, ICU/CCU, medical emergencies, and other wards was 62.27%, 62.02%, 51.61%, and 26.32%, respectively. The results of the MANCOVA showed that the nurses with STS symptoms received higher scores in depression, anxiety, and SI than the ones without STS symptoms (p < 0.01).Conclusion: Hospital authorities and nursing psychiatrists should pay more attention to the STS symptoms in nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak, and its effects on depression, anxiety, and SI.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) among nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak and compare depression, anxiety, and Suicidal Ideation (SI) between nurses with and without STS symptoms. The results showed that 51.11% of nurses had STS symptoms, and nurses with STS symptoms scored higher in depression, anxiety, and SI.