Background Discretionary autonomy is a key factor in enhanced patient outcomes and nurses' work satisfaction. Among nurses, insufficient autonomy can result in moral distress. Objectives To explore levels of autonomy among European critical care nurses and potential associations of autonomy with nurse-physician collaboration, moral distress, and nurses' characteristics. Methods Descriptive correlational study of a convenience sample of 255 delegates attending a major European critical care conference in 2009. Respondents completed a selfadministered questionnaire with validated scales for nurses' autonomy, nurse-physician collaboration, and moral distress. Results The mean autonomy score (84.26; SD, 11.7; range, and the mean composite (frequency and intensity) moral distress score (73.67; SD, 39.19; range, were both moderate. The mean collaboration score was 47.85 (SD, 11.63; range,. Italian and Greek nurses reported significantly lower nurse-physician collaboration than did other nurses (P < .001). Greek and German nurses reported significantly higher moral distress (P < .001). Autonomy scores were associated with nurse-physician collaboration scores (P < .001) and with a higher frequency of moral distress (P = .04). Associations were noted between autonomy and work satisfaction (P = .001). Frequency of moral distress was associated inversely with collaboration (r = -0.339; P < .001) and autonomy (r = -0.210; P = .01) and positively with intention to quit (r = 0.257; P = .004). Autonomy is defined as the freedom to make decisions within the domain of an individual's profession and to act accordingly. 10,11 The ability to make discretionary and autonomous decisions based on comprehensive knowledge, clinical expertise, and evidence-based findings is a hallmark of professionalism. In general, ICU nurses make 1 care decision every 30 seconds 12 and approximately 9 important patient-care decisions per hour, 13 suggesting that exercising judgment is a core nursing activity and influences the quality of care provided. Previous studies 11,[14][15][16] in European ICUs indicated that the levels of nurse autonomy differ between countries and that the decision-making capacity of these clinicians needs to be developed and strengthened. However, factors that may be associated with low autonomy among European ICU nurses have not been systematically studied. Although, presumably, poor nursephysician collaboration may limit a nurse's ability to implement care-and unit-related decisions, associations between these 2 constructs have not been investigated. Evidence of the association between nurse-physician collaboration and ICU nurses' moral distress is likewise scant. Although the design of the study we report here was unsuitable for exploring either causative factors or antecedents of autonomy-and inferences may be limited by differences in responders' context of practice-we wished to address autonomy, nurse-physician collaboration, and moral distress simultaneously in a sample of European ICU nurses to gain preliminary insigh...

Enhancement of nurse-physician collaboration and nurses' participation in end-of-life decisions seems to be a managerial task that could lead to the alleviation of nurses' moral distress and their retention in the profession.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has a great impact on healthcare workers (HCWs) that includes negative mental health outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, we report on mental health outcomes among HCWs in Cyprus. Data were collected between 3 May and 27 May 2020, with the use of an online questionnaire that included demographics (sex, age, occupation, education, work sector, years of work experience), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) which assesses depressive symptoms, the Impact of Events Scale Revised (IES-R), which measures post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and the-10 item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) which quantifies stress responses. Participants (42% physicians, 24% nurses, 18% physiotherapists, 16% classified as “other”) were 58% of female gender and aged 21–76. A total of 79 (18.6%) and 62 HCWs (14.6%) reported clinically significant depressive (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and post-traumatic stress (IES-R > 33) symptoms respectively. Nurses were more likely than physicians to suffer from depression (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.7 (1.06–2.73); p = 0.035) and PTSD (adjusted prevalence ratio 2.51 (1.49–4.23); p = 0.001). Even in a country with a rather low spread of the COVID-19, such as Cyprus, HCWs reported a substantial mental health burden, with nurses reporting increased depressive and PTSD symptoms compared to other HCWs.

Work-related moral distress (MD) and secondary traumatic stress syndrome (STSS) may be associated with compromised health status among health professionals, reduced productivity, and inadequate safety of care. We explored the association of MD with the severity of STSS symptoms, along with the mediating role of mental distress symptoms. Associations with emotional exhaustion and professional satisfaction were also assessed. This cross-sectional survey conducted in 206 mental health nurses (MHNs) was employed across public sector community and hospital settings in Cyprus. The analysis revealed that MD (measured by the modified Moral Distress Scale) was positively associated with both STSS (measured by the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale) and mental distress symptoms (assessed by the General Health Questionnaire-28). The association of MD with STSS symptoms was partially mediated by mental distress symptoms. This association remained largely unchanged after adjusting for gender, age, education, rank, and intention to quit the job. Our findings provide preliminary evidence on the association between MD and STSS symptomatology in MHNs. Situations that may lead health professionals to be in moral distress seem to be mainly related to the work environment; thus interventions related to organizational empowerment of MHNs need to be developed.

Objective:To systematically review evidence on dysfunctional psychological responses of Intensive Care Units nurses (ICUNs), with focus on anxiety and depressive symptoms and related factors. Method: A literature search was performed in CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus databases, from 1999 to present, along with a critical appraisal and synthesis of all relevant data. The following key words, separately and in combination, were used: "mental status" "depressive symptoms" "anxiety" "ICU nurses" "PTSD" "burnout" "compassion fatigue" "psychological distress". Results: Thirteen quantitative studies in English and Greek were included. The results suggested increased psychological burden in ICUNs compared to other nursing specialties, as well as to the general population. Conclusions: Studies investigating psychological responses of ICUNs are limited, internationally. Future longitudinal and intervention studies will contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon.

BackgroundPrevious findings suggest that stressful life events have a causal relationship with depressive symptoms. However, to date little is known concerning the contribution of the number and severity of recent stressful life events on the prevalence of depressive symptoms among university students. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and its association with the number and the severity of self-reported stressful life events among university students in Cyprus.MethodsA descriptive correlational design with cross sectional comparison was used. The CES-D scale was applied for the assessment of depressive symptoms and the LESS instrument for stressful life events. Both scales were completed anonymously and voluntarily by 1.500 students (response rate 85%).ResultsThe prevalence of mild to moderate depressive symptoms [CES-D score between 16 and 21] and of clinically significant depressive symptoms [CES-D score ≥ 22] were 18.8% and 25.3% respectively. There were statistically significant differences in clinically significant depressive symptoms by gender, with higher rates among women (x2 = 8.53, df = 1, p = 0.003). Higher scores on the LESS scale were associated with more frequent reports of clinical depressive symptoms (x2 = 70.63, df = 4, p < 0.001). Similarly, an association was found between the number of life events and clinical depressive symptoms (x2 = 40.06, df = 4, p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics confirmed that the responders who reported a high number (n = 12–21) of stressful life events during the previous year (OR = 2.64 95% CI: 1.02, 6.83) and a severe degree of stress due to these events (total LESS score > 351, OR = 3.03 95% CI: 1.66, 5.39) were more likely to manifest clinical depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe high frequency of occurrence of depressive symptoms among Cypriot university students, as well as the strong association with stressful life events, highlights the need for psychological empowerment strategies towards students by institutional counseling services.

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Despite the study limitations (e.g. results based mainly on secondary data from household surveys), it provides evidence that single motherhood places women in an adverse social position that is associated with prolonged stress mainly due to unemployment, economic hardship and social exclusion, which affects negatively their health status. These findings can be seen as a challenge for health professionals, especially those working in the community sector and policy makers too, to establish supportive measures for this vulnerable group focused on socio-economic factors.