Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study
The mental health of healthcare workers, especially the nursing staff in intensive care units, is crucial for the optimal functioning of healthcare systems during medical emergencies. This study implements a cross-sectional design to investigate the associations between nurses’ personal characterist...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/6/663 |
| _version_ | 1797240851309527040 |
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| author | Milena Santric-Milicevic Kristina Pavlekic Zoran Bukumiric Aleksandar Stevanovic Dejan Nikolic Bojana Matejic Dragana Matanovic Dusan Backovic Goran Tulic Relja Lukic Dubravka Zivanovic Sofija Radosavljevic Vladimir Milovanovic Marija Zdujic Sanja Stankovic Milika Asanin Marija Zdravkovic Ratko Tomasevic |
| author_facet | Milena Santric-Milicevic Kristina Pavlekic Zoran Bukumiric Aleksandar Stevanovic Dejan Nikolic Bojana Matejic Dragana Matanovic Dusan Backovic Goran Tulic Relja Lukic Dubravka Zivanovic Sofija Radosavljevic Vladimir Milovanovic Marija Zdujic Sanja Stankovic Milika Asanin Marija Zdravkovic Ratko Tomasevic |
| author_sort | Milena Santric-Milicevic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The mental health of healthcare workers, especially the nursing staff in intensive care units, is crucial for the optimal functioning of healthcare systems during medical emergencies. This study implements a cross-sectional design to investigate the associations between nurses’ personal characteristics, workplace challenges, and job satisfaction with the increased perception of tension, stress, and pressure at the workplace (TSPW) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, we surveyed 4210 nurses from 19 intensive healthcare facilities in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, and, at that time, collected data about their perceived TSPW before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study identified six predictors of the increase in TSPW, as perceived by nurses: their work in COVID-19 infectious zones (OR = 1.446), exhaustion due to work under protective equipment (OR = 1.413), uncertainty and fear of infection (OR = 1.481), a high degree of superiors’ appreciation and respect (OR = 1.147), a high degree of patients’ attitudes (OR = 1.111), and a low degree of work autonomy (OR = 0.889). The study’s findings suggest that a solution to this issue is necessary to ensure that nurses are safe and able to alleviate the physical and mental strain that comes with prolonged use of protective equipment. Nurses on the frontline of the pandemic require better health protection, better conditions, and respect for their role. Strategies to promote mental health would help reduce nurses’ stress and increase job satisfaction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:14:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d5671ed204c3479d9e75800764aabba2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:14:00Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-d5671ed204c3479d9e75800764aabba22024-03-27T13:43:45ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322024-03-0112666310.3390/healthcare12060663Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian StudyMilena Santric-Milicevic0Kristina Pavlekic1Zoran Bukumiric2Aleksandar Stevanovic3Dejan Nikolic4Bojana Matejic5Dragana Matanovic6Dusan Backovic7Goran Tulic8Relja Lukic9Dubravka Zivanovic10Sofija Radosavljevic11Vladimir Milovanovic12Marija Zdujic13Sanja Stankovic14Milika Asanin15Marija Zdravkovic16Ratko Tomasevic17Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaCity Institute of Public Health in Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Medical Statistics and Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children’s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Hygiene and Medical Ecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaDepartment of Radiology, University Hospital Center “Dr Dragisa Misovic”, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaCenter for Medical Biochemistry, University Clinical Center of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaThe mental health of healthcare workers, especially the nursing staff in intensive care units, is crucial for the optimal functioning of healthcare systems during medical emergencies. This study implements a cross-sectional design to investigate the associations between nurses’ personal characteristics, workplace challenges, and job satisfaction with the increased perception of tension, stress, and pressure at the workplace (TSPW) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, we surveyed 4210 nurses from 19 intensive healthcare facilities in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, and, at that time, collected data about their perceived TSPW before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study identified six predictors of the increase in TSPW, as perceived by nurses: their work in COVID-19 infectious zones (OR = 1.446), exhaustion due to work under protective equipment (OR = 1.413), uncertainty and fear of infection (OR = 1.481), a high degree of superiors’ appreciation and respect (OR = 1.147), a high degree of patients’ attitudes (OR = 1.111), and a low degree of work autonomy (OR = 0.889). The study’s findings suggest that a solution to this issue is necessary to ensure that nurses are safe and able to alleviate the physical and mental strain that comes with prolonged use of protective equipment. Nurses on the frontline of the pandemic require better health protection, better conditions, and respect for their role. Strategies to promote mental health would help reduce nurses’ stress and increase job satisfaction.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/6/663COVID-19healthcare managementmental healthnursesintensive care units |
| spellingShingle | Milena Santric-Milicevic Kristina Pavlekic Zoran Bukumiric Aleksandar Stevanovic Dejan Nikolic Bojana Matejic Dragana Matanovic Dusan Backovic Goran Tulic Relja Lukic Dubravka Zivanovic Sofija Radosavljevic Vladimir Milovanovic Marija Zdujic Sanja Stankovic Milika Asanin Marija Zdravkovic Ratko Tomasevic Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study Healthcare COVID-19 healthcare management mental health nurses intensive care units |
| title | Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study |
| title_full | Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study |
| title_fullStr | Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study |
| title_short | Nurses’ Perception of Tension, Stress, and Pressure before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicenter Serbian Study |
| title_sort | nurses perception of tension stress and pressure before and during the covid 19 pandemic a multicenter serbian study |
| topic | COVID-19 healthcare management mental health nurses intensive care units |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/6/663 |
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