Psychoemotional impact of the COVID19 pandemic on nursing professionals in Ecuador: a crosssectional study

Abstract

[eng] Aim and objectives To analyse the levels of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, and burnout among nursing professionals working in the Imbabura region of Ecuador during the COVID19 pandemic and identify the contributing sociooccupational factors. Background The high demand for care of COVID19 patients led to increased work pressure on nurses, owing to increased demands for care and shortages of medical supplies and protective equipment. Design A crosssectional study was conducted from September to December 2022 using a selfadministered questionnaire addressed to nursing professionals who cared for COVID19 patients. Methods The questionnaire included sociodemographic characteristics, the Spanish adaptation of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADSSpanish), Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IESR) for the evaluation of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the Spanish adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey (MBI HSSSpanish) for burnout assessment. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results Of the 782 participants, 88.6% had a high level of burnout (MBIHSSSpanish scale score>27). Female nurses, nurses with eighthour work shifts, and older professionals exhibited high levels of anxiety and depression. Prolonged working hours in COVID19 patient care services were found to be a risk factor for burnout and posttraumatic stress. Conclusions Participating nurses presented with a high level of chronic work stress and exhibited signs of anxiety and depression during the period under consideration. Providing nurses with psychological support measures and performing liaison consultations will alleviate the psychological burden on nurses. Relevance to clinical practice The study has shown that accounting for the environments where the emotional impact is greatest and how to reduce it would not only reduce anxiety, depression, and burnout in nurses but also improve the quality of care, not only in pandemic. Patient or public contribution Nurses contributed to the conduct of the study by participating in the data collection via questionaries.