Analysis of mental health effects among nurses working during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A systematic review

Abstract

Accessible Summary What is Known on the subject? Working on the frontline during the pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of health professionals. A significant proportion experienced anxiety, insomnia, posttraumatic stress or depression. What the paper adds to existing knowledge? Analysis and synthesis of the evidence of the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses based on their work context. There exists a gap in the literature as no studies were found that analysed the effects on nurses' mental health according to the level of care they worked in (hospital–primary care–nursing home). What are the implications for practice? There is an urgent need to assess and respond to the impact of COVID‐19 on the physical and mental well‐being of nurses, and to monitor international policies for the improvement of nurses' working conditions. Abstract Introduction Health professionals have suffered negative consequences during the COVID‐19 pandemic. No review has specifically addressed the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of nurses exclusively according to the work context. Aim To analyse the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses who have worked in hospitals, primary care centres and social health centres. Method PubMed, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Cochrane databases were searched (Prospero number: CRD42021249513). Out of 706 papers, 31 studies (2020–2021) were included in the systematic review. A qualitative synthesis method was used to analyse the data. Results Most studies were conducted in hospitals or frontline settings. The prevalence of moderate‐to‐severe symptoms was for anxiety 29.55%, depression 38.79%, posttraumatic stress disorder 29.8%, and insomnia 40.66%. Discussion This review highlights the mental health effects among nurses working in acute hospital settings. It also evidences a data gap on mental health effects among nurses working in primary health care and in nursing homes. Implications for practice In the post phase of the pandemic, there is an urgent need to assess and respond to the impact on the mental well‐being of nurses, and to monitor international policies for the improvement of nurses’ working conditions.

Sleep Quality and Its Relationship to Anxiety and Hardiness in a Cohort of Frontline Italian Nurses during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Likewise, in accordance with our previous results on hardiness, a systematic review by García-Vivar et al highlighted the mental health effects on nurses working in different parts of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic [50]. Indeed, the authors claim that nurses, among all healthcare workers, reported the highest levels of psychological distress because of their working conditions, which worsened when they were female and lacked access to PPE [50]. Accordingly, in our study, the group of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients reported significantly higher values for state and trait anxiety levels than those who did not, indicating that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic played an important role in nurses' anxiety.…”

Exploring Disparities in Self-Reported Mental Health Symptoms Across Professional Categories in Spain’s Emergency Medical Services: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

“…37 A meta-analysis incorporating cross-sectional descriptive studies involving 42,222 nurses from 13 countries highlighted ob mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as instances of physical and psychological violence in the workplace during the pandemic. 55 Comparing the results of this study with the findings of a systematic review by García-Vivar et al, 56 it appears that out-of-hospital nurses experience a greater prevalence of moderate to severe depression (48.6% vs 38.79%) and anxiety (47.7% vs 29.55%), although this should be verified by statistical tests to indicate whether the differences are indeed significant.…”

Experiences of family and community care physicians and nurse residents in Madrid regarding their training during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Photovoice study

“…In addition to the training impact, the experiences lived through the pandemic have led to signi cant psychological distress, with an increase in anxious-depressive symptoms [21], like what has happened to healthcare professionals in general [22][23][24][25][26][27]. A decrease in sleep hours and quality, and worsening lifestyle habits such as increased consumption of simple sugars, has also been identi ed [28].…”