Factors associated with professional identity among ICU nurses during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To determine the associated factors of professional identity among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study invited 348 ICU nurses in five hospitals in China from May to July 2020. Online self-report questionnaires were adopted to collect their demographic and occupational characteristics, perceived professional benefits and professional identity. Based on univariate and multiple linear regression analysis, a path analysis was performed to determine the associated factors' effects on professional identity. RESULTS: The mean score of professional identity was 102.38 ± 16.46. Perceived professional benefits, doctor recognition level and family support level were associated with ICU nurses' professional identity. The path analysis revealed that perceived professional benefits and doctor recognition level had direct effects on professional identity. In addition, doctor recognition level and family support level had indirect effects on professional identity through the mediation of perceived professional benefits.

Fatigue as a Cause of Professional Dissatisfaction Among Chinese Nurses in Intensive Care Unit During COVID-19 Pandemic.

Aim: To clarify the mediating role of burnout and the moderating role of turnover intention in the association between fatigue and job satisfaction among Chinese nurses in intensive care units (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of fifteen provinces in China was conducted, using an online questionnaire, from December 2020 to January 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 374 ICU nurses (effective response rate: 71.37%) provided sufficient responses. Sociodemographic factors, job demographic factors, fatigue, burnout, job satisfaction, and turnover intention were assessed using questionnaires. General linear modeling (GLM), hierarchical linear regression (HLR) analysis, and generalized additive modeling (GAM) were performed to examine all the considered research hypotheses. Results: Fatigue was found to be negatively and significantly associated with job satisfaction. Moreover, burnout played a partial mediating role and turnover intention played a moderating role in the relationship between fatigue and job satisfaction. Conclusion: Over time, a state of physical and mental exhaustion and work weariness among Chinese ICU nurses potentially results in job burnout and consequently promotes the level of job dissatisfaction. The results also found that turnover intention played a moderating role in the relationship between burnout and job satisfaction. Specific policies could be considered to eliminate nurses' fatigue and negative attitudes during times of public health emergencies.

Evaluation of Medical Staff Satisfaction for Workplace Architecture in Temporary COVID-19 Hospital: A Case Study in Gdansk, Poland.

This article analyses the architecture that was used in the temporary AmberExpo hospital in Gdansk, Poland which was installed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction of this type of facility is often based on experimental approaches, aimed at caring for patients suffering from an infectious disease in emergency conditions. In order to assess the level of employee satisfaction with the architectural and technical elements used in the first period of the hospital's activity, medical staff were asked to fill out a questionnaire. The analysis of the survey's results indicated that the majority of employees expressed satisfaction with the architectural and technical elements, with the design of the spatial layout of the individual medical zones receiving the most positive feedback. However, frequently selected drawbacks in the design included the lack of natural daylight, the artificial light that was used and the acoustics of the facility. This detailed examination of the satisfaction and feedback from medical employees working in this type of emergency facility enables the development of solutions that in the future will allow for the improved adaptive reuse and implementation of such structures, with enhanced time and economic efficiency, and most importantly, the ability to provide a safer workplace.

Factors that contributed to burnout among intensive care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: A constructivist grounded theory.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses experience high levels of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic due to multiple stressors. It has long been known that burnout is negatively associated with patient and staff outcomes. Understanding the triggers for intensive care nurses' burnout during the pandemic can help to develop appropriate mitigation measures. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine intensive care nurses' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia to develop insights into the factors that influenced burnout. METHODS: The study was informed by a constructivist grounded theory design. The study was conducted in an adult ICU in a tertiary hospital in the Makkah province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All participants were registered nurses with at least 6 months' experience in intensive care and experienced caring for COVID-19 patients. FINDINGS: This paper reports on preliminary findings from interviews with 22 intensive care nurses. A core category 'pandemic pervasiveness' was identified from the interview data, which makes reference to the ever-present nature of the pandemic beyond the ICU context. Family, work, and the wider world context are the three groups of contextual factors that influenced nurses' experience and perception of burnout. CONCLUSION: Many issues identified from the findings in this study can be attributed to shortages in the intensive care nursing workforce. Thus, we join others in calling for healthcare organisations and policymakers to be creative in finding new ways to meet nurses' needs, motivate, and empower them to maintain and sustain the nursing workforce in highly demanding areas, such as ICUs. Nursing managers can play a crucial role in mitigating nurses' burnout by identifying and tackling sources of stress that exist among their staff, specifically team conflict, workplace harassment, and discrimination.

Psychological Challenges and Coping Strategies Adopted by ICU Nurses during COVID-19 Pandemic in Lahore, Pakistan

Objectives: To explore the psychological challenges faced by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses during COVID-19 pandemic and to determine the coping strategies which were used by ICU nurses to combat psychological and emotional stress during the health crisis. Study Design: Qualitative phenomenological approach was used to explore the insights of ICU nurses. Study Subjects: Data were collected from 12 ICU nurses till data saturation. Place and Duration: This study was completed in between August 02, 2021 to January 01, 2022 and was conducted at University of Health Sciences Lahore in collaboration with four tertiary care hospitals of Lahore. Result(s): Results of this study revealed that the situation was very chaotic. ICU nurses were prone to stress, fear and anxiety because they were more exposed to coronavirus than any other health care professional. The responses of the COVID-19 ICU nurses were categorized into three main themes. Psychological impact of the pandemic in the early stages, social effects of the pandemic and coping strategies. Conclusion(s): This study concluded that COVID-19 pandemic had a great impact on the psychological well-being of ICU nurses. Despite of adverse conditions, nurses had adopted certain strategies such as family support, religious support and infection prevention protocols which helped them to reduce their stress and fear during the COVID-19 outbreak. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

Predictive Analysis of Factors Influencing Depression Status of Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic Intensive Care Unit.

Purpose: Understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression in intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, analyze high-risk factors, and propose appropriate measures to maintain physical and mental health. Methods: A total of 78 nurses in ICU of Beijing Ditan Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University (Beijing area, COVID-19 patient designated hospital) were investigated with self-rating depression scale (SDS). The Cronbach'sαcoefficient was 0.874, the content validity was 0.853, and the internal consistency was good. General information for the questionnaire: gender, marriage, education, age, title, length of service, ICU years of service, COVID-19 pandemic training, concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, and current health status. Results: According to the SDS scale score, ICU nurses had a total depression score of 51.36 ± 11.667, and the prevalence rate of depression was 44.9% (35/78). Multi-line regression analysis shows that stress perception, work experience in critical diseases, education and other total scores are risk factors for the occurrence of depression. Conclusion: Work experience in critical illness (ß = 9.930, P < 0.001) had a positive predictive effect on the total score of depression, while stress perception (ß = -0.884, P < 0.001) and education (ß = -6.061, P < 0.001) had a negative predictive effect on the total score of depression, and explained 52.7% variation. These findings point to the need for interventions to address psychological distress and provide the necessary support.

Virtual Reality Relaxation for Reducing Perceived Stress of Intensive Care Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic ICU nurses endure high levels of stress. VR relaxation (VRelax, containing 360° immersive environments) provides an easy-to-use and effective means to induce positive affect and reduce perceived stress. We investigated feasibility and immediate effect on perceived stress of VRelax use by ICU nurses during work shifts. ICU nurses working with COVID-19 patients in an academic hospital could use VRelax as a 10-min break during their shift. Primary outcome was the difference between perceived stress immediately before and after VRelax use measured by a single-question VAS-stress scale. Statistically significant difference of the mean VAS-stress before and after use was determined using the paired t student test. A socio-demographic questionnaire, a questionnaire on perceived stress and stress resilience and VRelax user experiences were sent by email. Eighty-six (26%) nurses used VRelax at least once; 77% (N=66) of these filled out the VAS-stress scale before and after use of VRelax. Mean perceived stress lowered with 39.9% after use of VRelax (mean difference=14.0, SD=13.3, p<0.005). Mean score on the perceived stress scale-10 was 11.4 (SD=6.50), mean score on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 was 29.0 (SD=5.51). Sixty-two percentage of the ICU nurses thought VRelax was helpful to reduce stress. Main barrier for use was a high workload. It is feasible for nurses to use VRelax in an ICU context. VRelax is an effective intervention to reduce immediate perceived stress and is of added value in stressful situations as during the COVID-19 pandemic, inducing a positive affective state and lowering perceived stress.

Effective communication is key to intensive care nurses' willingness to provide nursing care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic posed and continues to pose challenges for health care systems globally, particularly to Intensive Care Units (ICU). At the forefront of the ICU are highly trained nurses with a professional obligation to care for patients with COVID-19 despite the potential to become infected. The aim of this study was to explore ICU nurses' willingness to care during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study to explore ICU nurses' willingness to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic was undertaken between 25 March and 3 April 2020 at a large principal and referral teaching hospital in Sydney, NSW Australia. RESULTS: A total of 83 ICU nurses completed the survey. Approximately 60% reported receiving sufficient information from managers regarding COVID-19 and about caring for a patient with COVID-19. Ninety percent of nurses were concerned about spreading COVID-19 to their family. Sixty one percent of the nurses indicated that they were willing to care for patients with COVID-19. Receiving timely communication from managers was the only predictor of willingness to care among ICU nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Effective communication is a vital component during a public health emergency in order to promote nurses' willingness to care for patients in the ICU.