Examining the associations between self-care practices and psychological distress among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

There is limited research regarding the impact of self-care practices on psychological distress, specifically on nursing students during a pandemic, such as COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease- 2019). A 10-min electronic survey was sent to nursing students at a large academic-medical center, and data from 285 student respondents were analyzed to assess psychological status, attitudes and behaviors in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant differences were found when comparing self-care practice scores by school grade for total scores (F = 4.48 [df = 4250], p = .002), emotional subscale (F = 4.78 [df = 4250], p = .001), and relationship subscale (F = 3.44 [df = 4250], p = .009). While there were no significant differences in psychological distress by school grade, graduate students had the lowest self-care practice score compared to all the other grades. Finally, the subscale and total self-care practice scores were significantly and negatively associated with psychological distress. These findings suggest that utilization of self-care practices is associated with lower psychological distress, and should therefore be promoted among nursing student populations and integrated into curricula. Future studies should assess specific needs geared towards populations that may have poor self-care practices, such as graduate students, and understand ways to improve sleep quality to mitigate rates of psychological distress during a pandemic.

Mental Health Risk Factors and Coping Strategies among Students in Asia Pacific during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Scoping Review

“…Similar to depressive symptoms, the female gender [ 1 , 2 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 53 ] and year of study [ 1 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 44 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ] were associated with elevated levels of anxiety among students. However, all studies using medical field students [ 1 , 11 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ] reported anxiety symptoms as students were unable to complete their clinical training due to the pandemic situation.…”

Lifestyle in Undergraduate Students and Demographically Matched Controls during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

“…Lagging behind physical activity, one third of students reported having experienced relevant changes over the previous month in stress management, environmental exposures, and social support. Previous surveys suggest that stress was higher among respondents with sleep problems [35], substance use [20], alcohol-related problems, eating problems, and problematic internet use [36]. Moreover, those spending at least two hours outside, or less than eight hours engaged on electronic screens, were likely to experience lower levels of psychological impact [37].…”

Prevalence of mental health problems and sleep disturbances in nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Nursing students across the world have experienced mental health problems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 goes beyond the most fundamental aspects of daily life, such as sleep patterns (Brouwer et al, 2021;Gol and Erkin, 2021). For example, a study from Turkey found that nursing students reported high levels of anxiety and fear due to COVID-19.…”