Nurses' perceptions of social rejection, resilience and well-being during COVID-19: A national comparative study

To determine the level of social rejection and well-being of nurses, whether resilience is a mediator between them and to compare nurses who worked versus did not work on COVID-19 wards.

During the COVID-19 pandemic health care workers reported psychological distress and social rejection.

An online survey was sent to nursing social media groups in Israel. Respondents completed a Demographic, Social Rejection, Resilience and General Well-being questionnaire.

Two hundred and forty-seven nurses responded. The majority were female with a mean age of 43.6 years Approximately one-third were worried about infecting their family members and many agreed that their family fears that the nurse will infect them. Nurses reported their partner, family members, neighbours and the public physically distanced themselves from them. Approximately one quarter reported feeling lonely. Statistically significant differences were found between those who worked versus not work on a COVID-19 unit on general well-being, and social rejection. No differences were found in resilience scores.

Social rejection was felt by many nurses as shown by an inverse relationship between the closeness of the relationship and the sense of social rejection and a high level of loneliness and depression. A higher level of social rejection and lower well-being were found among nurses working on COVID-19 wards as opposed to those who did not. General well-being was found to be exceptionally low during COVID-19. Resilience did not mediate the relationship between social rejection and general well-being.

Perceived social rejection might be associated with decreased well-being. The level of resilience is related to the level of well-being among nurses in general. Nurses not working in COVID-19 wards have higher levels of well-being and less social rejection compared with nurses working in these wards.