Acute stress disorder, coping self‐efficacy and subsequent psychological distress among nurses amid COVID‐19

• Published in: Journal of nursing management Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 1686 - 1695
• Main Authors: Shahrour, Ghada, Dardas, Latefa Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Hindawi Limited 01.10.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Acute stress disorder; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Age Factors; Complex patients; Coping; COVID-19; COVID-19 - nursing; COVID-19 - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health care; Humans; Jordan - epidemiology; Male; Medical personnel; Medical referrals; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Nurse led services; Nurses; Nurses - psychology; Nurses - statistics & numerical data; Nursing; Nursing administration; Occupational stress; Occupational Stress - epidemiology; Occupational Stress - etiology; Occupational Stress - psychology; Original; Pandemics; Personal safety; Post traumatic stress disorder; Prevalence; Psychological Distress; Psychological services; Psychosocial factors; Psychosocial intervention; Psychosocial support; Risk Factors; Safety measures; Self Efficacy; Sex Factors; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute - etiology; Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute - psychology; Stress management; Suffering; Support services; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Jordan; COVID-19; nurses; psychological distress; acute stress disorder; coping
• ISSN: 0966-0429; 1365-2834
• DOI: 10.1111/jonm.13124

Purpose Health care professionals, particularly nurses, are considered a vulnerable group to experience acute stress disorder (ASD) and subsequent psychological distress amid COVID‐19 pandemic. This study aims to establish the prevalence of acute stress disorder and predictors of psychological distress among Jordanian nurses. Methods A quantitative, cross‐sectional, descriptive and comparative design was used. Data were collected using a Web‐based survey. A total of 448 Jordanian nurses (73% females) completed and returned the study questionnaire. Results The majority of nurses (64%) are experiencing ASD due to the COVID‐19 pandemic and thus are at risk for PTSD predisposition. More than one‐third of nurses (41%) are also suffering significant psychological distress. Among our sample, age, ASD and coping self‐efficacy significantly predicted psychological distress. More specifically, younger nurses are more prone to experience psychological distress than older ones. While higher scores on ASD showed more resultant psychological distress, coping self‐efficacy was a protective factor. Conclusion Given that individuals who suffer from ASD are predisposed to PTSD, follow‐up with nurses to screen for PTSD and referral to appropriate psychological services is pivotal. Coping self‐efficacy is found to ameliorate the effect of psychological distress on nurses' traumatic experience. Such findings warrant intensive efforts from health care institutions to provide psychosocial support services for nurses and ongoing efforts to screen them for traumatic and psychological distress symptoms. Implications for Nursing Management Nursing leaders and managers are in the forefront of responding to the unique needs of their workforces during the COVID‐19 crisis. They need to implement stress‐reduction strategies for nurses through providing consecutive rest days, rotating allocations of complex patients, arranging support services and being accessible to staff. They also need to ensure nurses' personal safety through securing and providing personal safety measures and undertake briefings to ensure their staff's physical and mental well‐being, as well as providing referrals to appropriate psychological services.