The effect of anxiety and spiritual well-being on the care burden of caregivers of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the caregivers of people with all chronic diseases, including people with cancer (PWC). This study was conducted to determine the impact of anxiety and spiritual well-being on the care burden of caregivers of PWC during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: This cross-sectional descriptive study included 250 caregivers of hematology and oncology patients registered with a cancer support association. All participants completed the following self-report questionnaires: the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI). RESULTS: Most (82.4%) of the caregivers expressed fear that their patient may contract COVID-19, and 42.0% stated that they had difficulty getting to the hospital. The caregivers' mean ZBI score was 21.06 ± 14.64, their mean GAD-7 score was 14.51 ± 6.02, and their mean SWBS score was 111.50 ± 16.84. According to the results of regression analysis, SWBS and GAD-7 scores had a significant effect on the ZBI score (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, anxiety explained most of the care burden during COVID-19. Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be beneficial to implement practices to promote spirituality and reduce anxiety in caregivers of PWC.

Experiences of nurses working with COVID-19 patients: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to massive disruptions in daily life, business, education, lifestyle and economies worldwide. Nurses are a professional group who care directly for COVID-19 patients and thus face direct exposure to the virus. The nurses who work on the front lines during this period put their own well-being at risk to care for these patients. PURPOSE/AIM: The aim of this study was to identify the experiences and challenges faced by nurses working in pandemic clinics in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This qualitative study was based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted through the mobile application Whatsapp with 19 nurses who were actively working in pandemic clinics. Due to the pandemic, the snowball sampling method was used to reach the sample group. Interviews were continued until data saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed. The study data were interpreted according to themes identified using thematic analysis. Throughout the study, the authors followed the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: The experiences of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients were summarised into five major themes: psychosocial adaptation, protection, difficulty in care and treatment, access to information and working conditions. CONCLUSION: Nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in Turkey have been affected psychologically, socially and physiologically. They experienced stigmatisation, exhaustion and burnout. One of the biggest challenges for the nurses was difficulty providing physical care and treatment due to the use of personal protective equipment. Nurses want improved compensation in addition to applause from the public. Interventions to help bolster nurses' psychological and physiological strength are recommended. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study emphasised nurses' psychologically, socially and physiologically affected. Therefore, improvements in financial and moral support would provide psychological reinforcement for nurses during the epidemic. Informing the public is necessary to reduce the stigmatisation of nurses working in pandemic clinics.

Determination of the Factors Affecting Sleep Quality in the General Population During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: This study aimed to determine the factors affecting sleep quality in the general population during the early phase of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study and included 595 people who were surveyed online. The data were collected through the "socio-demographic characteristics form", "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index" and "Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-7". Results: In this study, sleep quality among individuals was found to be poor, and as the level of generalised anxiety increased, sleep quality decreased. Sleep quality was found to be poor those living in urban areas and those with chronic diseases. Conclusion: The results of the study can be used to develop therapeutic strategies and implement social policies to support people with sleep difficulties. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Amaç: Bu çalışma Koronavirüs hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) salgını erken dönemlerinde genel popülasyonda uyku kalitesini etkileyen etmenlerin belirlenmesi amacı ile planlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu çalışma kesitsel tipte olup "online survey" (çevrimiçi anket) ile ulaşılan 595 kişi ile tamamlanmıştır. Veriler "sosyodemografik özellikler formu", "Pittsburgh Uyku Kalitesi indeksi", "Yaygın Anksiyete Bozukluğu ölçeği-7" ile toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Bu çalışmada bireylerin uyku kalitesi kötü olup, yaygın anksiyete düzeyi arttıkça uyku kalitesi azalmaktadır. Kentsel bölgede yaşayanlarda ve kronik hastalığı olanlarda uyku kalitesi kötü bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Sonuçlar, bu süreçte uyku güçlüğü çeken bireyleri desteklemek için terapötik stratejilerin geliştirilmesi ve sosyal politikaların uygulanması için kullanılabilir. (Spanish) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Turkish Sleep Medicine is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)