Background: The COVID-19 frontline nurses' stress-reduction programme by the cooperation of manager with the nurses is not-well developed.Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of an emergency nurse-led stressreduction project on reducing stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:The action research was conducted using online and person-to-person group brainstorming strategies. The online survey was used to evaluate emergency nurses' stress levels, causes of stress and needs at the 50th, 80th and 110th days of the pandemic from March to May 2020.
Results:The numbers of nurses participating in three-time survey were 160, 166 and 160, respectively. There was a decrease in the nurses' work-related stress after implementing the improvement strategies. Stress from personal protective equipment (PPE), information about infection control and family's worry about being infected reduced across 2 months. Needs regarding PPE, COVID-19 information and a forum for sharing experiences of COVID-19 care decreased whereas needs of allowing more days off increased.
Conclusions:The stress-reduction project targeting at nurses' views of their needs can reduce their stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.Implications for Nursing Management: The online and person-to-person group brainstorming building a good partnership between nurses and managers can be an effective nursing management.
Aims
To examine the association of the working stress with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), and burnout as the mediator for this association among emergency nurses during COVID‐19 pandemic.
Design
Longitudinal survey study.
Methods
Online survey was used to collect data during the period from August to November 2020 with a sample of 169 emergency nurses. They were invited to complete the following questionnaires at the 6th and 9th months after COVID‐19 outbreak: Posttraumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS‐10), the emergency nurses' COVID‐19 stress questionnaire and Chinese version of 21‐item Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI).
Results
During the 3‐month follow‐up, there were no changes in the number of suspected PTSD cases (6 and above symptoms): 41% at the 6th month and 33.3% at the 9th month. The increases of the personal burnout levels and living apart from families were the main factors associated with the PTSD symptoms. The risk for emergency nurses suffering from PTSD is through stress levels increasing their burnout levels.
Conclusions
Over 30 percent of emergency nurses remained at high risk for suspected PTSD. The burnout levels mediated the relationship between the stress levels and the risks of PTSD.
Impact
Little as know about the impact of COVID‐19 on emergency nurses' stress. This study found emergency nurses remained to be the high risk for the suspected PTSD cases. It is urged to develop a stress‐reduction program targeting at causes of stress and improving burnout for emergency nurses during COVID‐19 pandemic.
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