Anxiety, depression and cognitive emotion regulation strategies in Chinese nurses during the COVID‐19 outbreak

Abstract

Aims To explore the association between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and anxiety and depression among nurses during the COVID‐19 outbreak. Background Nurses play a vital role in responding to the COVID‐19 outbreak, but many of them suffer from psychological problems due to the excessive workload and stress. Understanding the correlation between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and anxiety and depression will promote targeted psychosocial interventions for these affected nurses. Methods This cross‐sectional study of 586 nurses was conducted in Eastern China. Participants completed online questionnaires that investigated anxiety, depression and cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Results The prevalence of nurses' anxiety and depression was 27.6% and 32.8%, respectively. Lower self‐blame, rumination and catastrophizing, as well as greater acceptance and positive refocusing, were related to fewer symptoms of anxiety or depression. Conclusion The cognitive emotion regulation strategies of acceptance and positive refocusing contribute to reducing anxiety or depression. These strategies should be considered when implementing psychotherapeutic interventions to improve nurses' adverse emotional symptoms. Implications for Nursing Management This study highlights the need to assess cognitive emotion regulation strategies use in screening for anxiety and depression. Nurse managers should develop psychosocial interventions including appropriate strategies to help nurses with adverse emotions during a pandemic.

Psychological distress among healthcare providers during COVID-19 in Asia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

“…About two thirds (n = 98) of the studies reported the data on depression [ 8 , 23 – 27 , 29 – 33 , 35 , 36 , 38 – 41 , 45 – 52 , 56 – 60 , 62 – 65 , 67 – 69 , 71 – 76 , 78 – 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 , 89 , 91 , 92 , 94 , 95 , 97 , 99 , 100 , 103 , 104 , 106 – 108 , 111 , 113 , 115 – 117 , 120 , 123 , 124 , 127 , 129 – 133 , 137 , 138 , 140 , 141 , 143 – 146 , 149 , 151 – 154 ,…”

“…A total of 117 out of 148 studies described the anxiety data in terms of frequency or percentage [ 8 , 10 , 11 , 24 – 27 , 30 – 33 , 35 – 42 , 45 – 56 , 58 – 60 , 62 – 65 , 67 – 69 , 71 – 76 , 78 – 82 , 84 , 86 , 88 – 95 , 99 , 100 , 103 – 114 , 116 – 118 , 120 , 122 – 135 , 137 – 141 , 143 – 145 , 149 , 151 – 154 , 156 – 165 ]. Tools that were used to screen for anxiety were Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), 2-item and 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2& GAD-7), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale 14 items (HADS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Chinese Classification and the Diagnose Criterion of Mental Disorder (CCMD-3), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Dispositional cancer worry scale, Symptom Checklist 90, and Beck Anxiety Scales (BAS).…”

Commentary: SARS-CoV-2 and Asbestos Exposure: Can Our Experience With Mesothelioma Patients Help Us Understand the Psychological Consequences of COVID-19 and Develop Interventions?

“…We also suggest some of the measures that should be present on each level to mitigate the impact of trauma. For example, some of the individual-level protective factors include emotional and cognitive preparedness to face a natural or man-made disaster (Gabriel et al, 2007 ; Roudini et al, 2017 ), absence of pre-existing trauma and psychiatric history (Alvarez and Hunt, 2005 ; Esterwood and Saeed, 2020 ), good emotional regulation skills (Restubog et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), and sense of control during and after the disaster (Reich, 2006 ). At collective and societal levels, examples of protective factors include social support (Ehring et al, 2011 ; Huang et al, 2013 ; Pietrzak et al, 2014 ), community-level preparedness training (Morrissey and Reser, 2003 ), receiving post-disaster professional support (Tak et al, 2007 ; Brooks et al, 2016 ) and using social media as a source of information and psychological “first aid” (Finch et al, 2016 ; Yang et al, 2019 ).…”

Overview of Nurse Anxiety Screening Dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many losses such as physical health problems, economic inequality, social inequality and mental disorders (Wang et al 2020). Mental disorders that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic were anxiety, fear, stress, depression, panic, sadness, frustration, anger, and denial (Huang et al 2020).…”