Cohort profile: the nurses' mental health study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Public Health
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• Nurses face elevated mental health risks due to work environments.
• Mental health issues are prominent among nurses in China's tertiary hospitals.
• Nationally representative longitudinal data on nurses' mental health in China were lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the design of the Nurses' Mental Health Study (NMHS).
• To present initial findings on nurses' mental health in China.
• To establish a longitudinal dataset for tracking mental health trends.

Main Methods:

• Survey of registered nurses across 67 tertiary hospitals in 31 Chinese provinces.
• Annual data collection covering sociodemographics, work factors, health, lifestyle, and social relationships.
• Two-year data collection with a five-year planned follow-up period.

Main Results:

• Baseline survey included 132,910 nurses; first follow-up included 131,713.
• High prevalence of symptoms: 55.2% depressive, 39.3% anxiety, 45.0% insomnia.
• Low mental health service utilization (6.9% sought help), despite significant symptom burden.

Conclusions:

• A substantial percentage of nurses report mental and psychological symptoms.
• Low rates of mental health service use among nurses require attention.
• Routine psychological screening and optimized mental health promotion are necessary.