Résumé
The advent of COVID-19 has significantly affected healthcare workers' mental health. This study was conducted to investigate the perceived stress and its relationship with psychological distress among nurses who took care of patients with the COVID-19 disease. This cross-sectional study was performed on 180 nurses in Ardabil province in 2020. Data were collected online through two standard questionnaires, making use of the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Then,data were analysed based on descriptive and analytical statistics using SPSS software version 19 as well as independent t-tests, Spearman's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression tests. The results of the Spearman's correlation test indicated that there was a significantly positive correlation (rho = 0.79) between perceived stress and psychological distress (P <0.001). After adjusting the effects of other variables using a multiple linear regression test, the beta correlation coefficient was calculated, and the obtained value of 0.766 was regarded as statistically significant (P <0.001). Moreover, 63.9% of the nurses experienced moderate perceived stress, and 72.6% experienced severe mental disorders. The results of this study demonstrate that high perceived stress is considered as a strong predictor of psychological distress, and also the majority of the nurses working in frontline wards have experienced severe psychological distress. Therefore, it is recommended to take into account the workplace stress and prepare the ground (e.g., through preparing education, identifying at-risk individuals, as well as providing psychotherapy services and social support) to reduce the stress and promote the nurses' mental health.
Résumé
Background: The coming various disasters, especially probable pandemics, will need a large number of volunteers with different capabilities. Motivation of volunteers, as a driving force, will be very important for future pandemic disaster planning. The aim of this study was to determine the enablers and barriers to the engagement of healthcare professionals in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the General Internal Medicine Departments of Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in Tehran, Iran. A 44-item questionnaire was designed based on the Literature Review and Experts Panel. Items were scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree (1)” to "strongly agree (5)”. Content validity and face validity of the questionnaire were checked by 10 experts and 10 respondents, respectively. Cronbach's alpha of the items of stimulating and inhibitory factors' section was calculated 0.83 and 0.92, respectively. A self-administrated paper-based questionnaire has been distributed among healthcare team members. Results: Out of 105 health care professionals, 80 (76.2%) were female and 41 (39%) were married. The most significant demographic predictor of willingness to volunteering was having no child (p-value=0.001). History of infection, admission, or death of family members or friends in the current pandemic was an important factor to reduce the desire to voluntary activities significantly (p-value=0.019). Depressive disorders and using antidepressants had no relation with the attraction to volunteering, but anxiety disorders had a significant relation with the willingness to be a volunteer (p-value=0.04). Conclusion: The most important demographic variables influencing the unwillingness to participate in voluntary activities during the COVID-19 crisis are parenting role, history of anxiety disorders, and history of hospitalization or death of relatives or friends. Furthermore, the voluntary participation of healthcare professionals is influenced by facilitating factors such as giving rewards, reducing the period of obligatory military service, having a sense of altruism, and helping others. Copyright © 2023, Journal of Iranian Medical Council. All rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.