Posttraumatic stress disorder and related factors among nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic

To analyse the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and examine its related factors among nurses who worked during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Daegu, South Korea.

Nurses are a high-risk population for PTSD, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted to identify the nursing work environmental factors that should be addressed to reduce PTSD.

Using a cross-sectional design, 365 nurses were enrolled. Their characteristics (intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and COVID-19-related) and PTSD Checklist-5 scores were analysed.

The average PTSD score was 14.98 ± 15.94, and 16.5% of the participants had a high risk of PTSD. Nurses were more likely to have PTSD if they were married (odds ratio = 3.02, p = .013) and when nurse managers' abilities, leadership, and support of nurses were low (odds ratio = 3.81, p < .001).

The nursing work environment was found to be associated with PTSD. Therefore, interventions are necessary to increase nurse managers' abilities, leadership, and support for nurses to reduce the risk of PTSD among nurses.

Effective professional and social support and interventions to improve nurse managers' abilities, leadership, and support of nurses are needed to reduce PTSD.