ABSTRACT
Background The sporadic outbreak of COVID-19 and the constant mutation of the virus have put the public in panic. Frontline nurses' appropriate emotional regulation and mental health are the key to win the victory of fighting against the epidemic. The relationships between these variables directly influence the availability of human resources to combat COVID-19. Objective To investigate the relationship between meaning in life, emotional regulation, and mental health of frontline nurses during the Delta virus epidemic. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2021 among 105 nurses from the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China, who were deployed at the COVID-19 units in Zhangjiajie People's Hospital. The Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Psychological Questionnaire for Emergent Events of Public Health were used to evaluate their meaning in life, emotion regulation, and mental health. Their correlation and the moderating effect of emotion regulation were conducted. Results In total, 105 (100%) nurses responded. There were 14 men and 91 women and the mean age was (30.295 ± 4.653) years. The average score of meaning in life and mental health of frontline nurses was 49.971 ± 6.386 and 2.755 ± 2.580, respectively. The meaning in life of frontline nurses was positively correlated with cognitive reappraisal and negatively correlated with expressive suppression and mental health. Mental health was negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal and positively correlated with expressive suppression. The emotional regulation of frontline nurses has a moderating effect between meaning in life and mental health. Conclusion Meaning in life and emotion regulation of frontline nurses were significantly correlated with mental health under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Changing the emotion regulation of frontline nurses, strengthening cognitive reappraisal, and weakening expressive suppression could reduce the predictive effect of meaning in life on mental health.
ABSTRACT
Objective: We sought to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Xiamen, which is a city in Fujian Province, China. Methods: From January 20, 2020, to March 4, 2020, the clinical characteristics of all patients confirmed with novel coronavirus pneumonia admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, which was the only designated hospital for cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Xiamen, were analyzed. Results: A total of 35 cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia were confirmed. Patients were divided into the general-ward admission group and the intensive-care-unit (ICU) admission group. The most commonly observed symptoms were fever (80%), cough (51%), expectoration (28%), and fatigue (23%). Compared with patients in the general-ward group, patients in the ICU group had a higher maximum body temperature, a longer duration of fever after admission, and more symptoms of systemic pain. Considering the laboratory findings, patients in the ICU group exhibited lower peripheral blood lymphocyte ratios and lymphocyte counts but higher C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase levels. All patients were discharged without death, and no patients required invasive ventilation, continuous renal replacement therapy, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Conclusion: Relative to patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan, the cases in Xiamen were less severe.