Australian nurses and midwives' perceptions of their workplace environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Working as a front-line worker during a pandemic is a unique situation that requires a supportive work environment. An informed understanding of nurses and midwives' workplace experiences during a pandemic, such as COVID-19, may enable better preparation and targeted support for future pandemics at an individual, organisational and policy level. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nurses and midwives' workplace experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey consisting of open-ended questions was conducted with a convenience sample of nurses and midwives (n = 1003) working in New South Wales Health hospital settings, in Australia. Open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Results: Five themes were identified; 'organisational communication', 'workplace support', 'availability of personal protective equipment', 'flexible working' and 'new ways of working'. Nurses and midwives' workplace experiences during COVID-19 were influenced by leaders who were perceived to be adaptive, authentic, responsive, transparent and visible. Whilst many expressed a number of workplace challenges, including access to personal protective equipment, there was opportunity to explore, develop and evaluate new and alternate models of care and working arrangements. Conclusion: It is important that nurses and midwives are supported and well prepared to cope during pandemics in the workplace. Organisational leadership and timely dissemination of transparent pandemic plans may support nurses' adaptive workplace experiences.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related stress experienced by Australian nurses.

Globally, the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers' mental health has been a major focus of recent research. However, Australian research involving nurses, particularly across the acute care sector, is limited. This cross-sectional research aimed to explore the impact of pandemic-related stress on psychological adjustment outcomes and potential protective factors for nurses (n = 767) working in the Australian acute care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses completed an online questionnaire with psychometrically validated measures of pandemic-related stress, psychological adjustment outcomes (depression, anxiety, and subjective well-being), and protective factors (posttraumatic growth and self-compassion). Descriptive analyses revealed that pandemic-related stress was reported by 17.7% of the participants. Psychological adjustment outcome scores above normal for depression (27.5%) and anxiety (22.0%) were found, and 36.4% of the participants reported poor subjective well-being. Regression analyses suggest that pandemic-related stress predicted greater depression (B = 0.32, SE = 0.02, 95% confidence interval [0.28, 0.35]) and anxiety (B = 0.26, SE = 0.01, 95% confidence interval [0.24, 0.29]) and less subjective well-being (B = -0.14, SE = 0.01, 95% confidence interval [-0.16, -0.12]). Self-compassion weakened the relationship between pandemic-related stress and greater depression, however, exacerbated the relationship between pandemic-related stress and less subjective well-being. Posttraumatic growth reduced the negative relationship between pandemic-related stress and psychological adjustment outcomes. These findings will inform strategies to facilitate psychological resources that support nurses' psychological adjustment, enabling better pandemic preparedness at both an individual and organizational level.