The Impact of COVID-19 Nurses Occupational Stress and Strategies to Manage It

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the occupational stress perception of nurses and how they manage it during the COVID-19 pandemic. BACKGROUND The management of occupational stress is a key factor in promoting nurses' well-being. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. RESULTS The top occupational stressors from the nurses' perspectives (N = 236) as measured by using an updated version of the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) included wearing a face mask at all times in the hospital, unpredictable staffing and scheduling, not enough staff to adequately cover the unit, feeling helpless in the case a patient fails to improve, and being assigned to a COVID-19 patient. The mean stress score was 31.87. The updated NSS Cronbach's alpha was 0.92, and the interclass interclass correlation coefficient was 0.914. CONCLUSION Nurse administrators are in a strategic position to develop interventions (eg, open door policy, meetings, and employee assistance programs) to assist nurses in effectively managing stress.

Automated summary

This study investigated the occupational stress perception of nurses and how they manage it during the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying top stressors such as wearing a face mask, unpredictable staffing, inadequate staffing, feeling helpless when patients fail to improve, and being assigned to COVID-19 patients. Nurse administrators can develop interventions like open door policy, meetings, and employee assistance programs to help nurses effectively manage stress.