Influence of depression, stress, and anxiety on work performance among nurses in tuberculosis/HIV and COVID-19 units on Timor Island

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between work performance and self-reported symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety among nurses in tuberculosis (TB)/HIV and COVID-19 units on Timor Island, Indonesia. Methods: This research used a comparative, cross-sectional design. The data were collected between October 2020 and January 2021. The total population sampling technique was used. The study group comprised 236 nurses working in TB/HIV isolation rooms and 423 nurses in COVID-19 isolation rooms. The data were collected using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS-42) and a work performance questionnaire. The instruments were administered online. The collected data were analyzed using independent t-testing to see differences in the performance of TB/HIV isolation unit nurses compared with that of COVID-19 isolation unit nurses, and the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between work performance and depression, stress, and anxiety. Results: The mean DASS-42 scores of nurses in the TB/HIV isolation units were low, indicating minimal effects. The mean score was 4.56 for depression, 4.44 for anxiety, and 5.63 for stress. The scores of those in the COVID-19 isolation units reflected moderate levels of depression, stress, and anxiety the mean was 17.03 for depression, 11.23 for anxiety and 6.120 for stress. The work performance results indicated that the nurses in the TB/HIV isolation rooms, on average, had sufficient work performance, while those in the COVID-19 isolation rooms demonstrated weaker work performance. There was a significant difference in the work performance between nurses working in the 2 units (p value <0.05). Conclusion: The state of nurses’ depression, stress, and anxiety was correlated with work performance in the TB/HIV and COVID-19 isolation units. © 2022 by Journal of Psychiatric Nursing.