Covid-19 Effects on the Mental Workload and Quality of Work Life in Iranian Nurses

Abstract

Introduction:The mental health of people working in Covid-19 wards (nurses, doctors, etc.) may be compromised due to the specific conditions of the workplace and patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mental burden and quality of work life in nurses in intensive care units of Covid-19 patients. Method:In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 200 people-100 nurses in care units for patients with COVID-19 (group 1) and 100 nurses in non-COVID-19 patient care units (group 2-in three university hospitals were obtained. These 200 samples were randomly extracted from the list of employees and selected. Data were collected using three questionnaires, including (1) a demographic, (2) the NASA-Task Load Index (1988) (Hart & Staveland, 1988) and (3) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Quality of Life. Data were analyzed using SPSS-24 software and descriptive and analytical statistical methods. Results:The overall mean scores of nurses' quality of work life were significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05). The average score of quality of life in nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 is 92.57, more than nurses caring for patients without COVID-19, 79.43. Among the dimensions of mental workload: Performance and efficiency, with an average score of 77.32 ± 15.85, had the highest score, while discouragement and failure, with an average score of 58.04 ± 26.72, had the lowest score of mental workload. There is a significant difference between the mental load of work in the two groups (P = 0.001). There is a significant inverse relationship between total quality of work life and total mental workload (r = -14 and P = 0.01). Conclusion:In this study, it was observed that nurses caring for Covid-19 patients are in a more unfavorable situation in terms of the studied characteristics. Due to the work period, these nurses have a high workload and a low quality of work life to compensate for the mental and physical deficiencies required by a long presence in the work environment.

Quality of work-life and turnover intentions among the Ghanaian nursing workforce: A multicentre study

“…Moreover, with RNs’ perceived poor QoWL, study results from other countries such as Iran [ 47 ], Saudi Arabia [ 48 ], Malaysia [ 49 ], and Australia [ 50 ] also revealed that RNs who cared for COVID-19 patients had poor working conditions and increased workload and as such low QoWL. A study in the United State, however, showed a moderate level of professional quality of life [ 51 ]; this could be attributed to the nature of the working environment and the adequacy of both human and material resources at their disposal in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic [ 52 ].…”

Domains of Physical and Mental Workload in Health Work and Unpaid Domestic Work by Gender Division: A Study with Primary Health Care Workers in Brazil

“…As demonstrated, the potential for increased workload was directly associated with female health professionals, even after examining the current association between the gender of health professionals when determining the workload, especially in terms of mental and physical demands, total workload and frustration. Some studies in the literature corroborate this evidence and could work with the re-construction of a division of labor according to health workers’ gender [ 51 , 52 ] to increase workloads and the specificity of PHC workers.…”

Pandemi Sürecinde Hemşirelerin Algılanan Sosyal Destek Düzeyleri ile Yaşam Kalitesi Arasındaki İlişkinin Belirlenmesi

“…15 Pandemi sürecinde hemşirelerin COVID-19'dan kaynaklı çalışma saatlerinin ve fazla mesailerinin artmış olduğu görülmektedir. 3,17 Başka bir çalışmada ise artan bakım yükünün hemşirelerin meslek değiştirmeyi düşünmelerine ve işten ayrılmalarına sebep olabileceği belirtilmiştir. 18,19 Bu çalışmadan da elde edilen sonuçlar neticesinde mesai saatlerinin düzenlenmesi ve fazla mesailer nedeniyle ödül mekanizmalarının oluşturulması mesleki bağlılığın kurulmasını ve memnuniyetin artırılmasını sağlayacaktır.…”

“…[21][22][23] İranlı hemşireler ile COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde yapılan bir çalışmada ise gelir düzeyi yüksek olan hemşirelerin yaşam kalitesinin de yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. 17 Yapılan çalışmalar ile bu çalışmadan benzer sonuçlar elde edilmiş olup; çalışma grubundaki hemşirelerin çoğunluğunu eğitim düzeyinin lisans düzeyinde oluşunun gelir durumlarının artışında etkili olduğu dolayısıyla yaşam kalitelerinin de artışı ile açıklanabilir. Bu çalışmada genel sağlık durumunu iyi olarak belirtenlerin yaşam kalitesinin yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir.…”