Psychological Distress Among Nurse Practitioners After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• COVID-19 pandemic caused significant stress for healthcare workers.
• Previous studies focused on psychological distress during the pandemic, neglecting the postpandemic period.
• Limited research exists on post-COVID-19 psychological distress among nurse practitioners.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate psychological distress in nurse practitioners during the post-COVID-19 era.
• To identify factors associated with psychological distress in this population.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study in Taiwan (May-July 2023) with 98 nurse practitioners.
• Data collected via demographics, Depression, Anxiety, And Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21), and a stress scale for caring for infectious diseases.
• Data analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, ANOVA, correlation, and multiple linear regression.

Main Results:

• Mean DASS-21 scores indicated normal levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Nurse practitioners aged 35-44 and >45 reported higher stress when caring for infectious patients compared to those aged 25-34.
• Those with 11-20 years of experience reported lower stress than those with <10 years of experience.

Conclusions:

• Older nurse practitioners (≥35 years) and those with less work experience (<10 years) experienced greater stress post-COVID-19.
• This is the first study on post-COVID-19 psychological distress in nurse practitioners.
• Hospital administrators should implement age and experience-tailored support to reduce distress and improve care quality.