Depressive symptoms risk factors in nursing staff during the second COVID-19 pandemic wave

Abstract

Introduction: The work of nurses, over time, has played a key role in the well-being and health of societies. Nursing has been recognized as a very challenging and stressful profession. Many studies have shown a statistically
significant positive correlation between nurses’ job stress and the development of depression.
Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the depressive symptoms risk factors in nursing staff during the second COVID-19 pandemic wave. Material and Method: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used in a
sample of 230 nurses of a General Hospital of Athens, Greece. Results: Eighty-point-nine percent of the participants were women, the total sample’s mean age was 49.0(40.0-54.0) years, 60.4% were married, 47.3% had
bachelor’s degree only, and the 62.7% were working at surgery sector. As for the health history-related, personal, or family, characteristics, 26,7% of the research subjects had a chronic disease, and 41.9% had person in the family with a chronic disease as well as 7.7% had been felled sick by COVID-19. In terms of the depressive symptoms level, only the 5.1% of the responders
had moderate/severe depressive symptoms. The univariate logistic regression analysis, in terms of the variables that were involved in the predictive model was significant (P≤.05) for the, personal, chronic disease presence (OR
3.65, 95% CI 1.07-12.48, P=.039), the presence of person(s) in the family with a chronic disease (OR 7.54, 95% CI 1.59-35.85, P=.011), and the history of COVID-19 illness (OR 5.63, 95% CI 1.32-23.98, P=.020). With respect to the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the presence of personal chronic disease, and the history of COVID-19 illness were statistically significant (OR 6.97, 95%
CI 1.18-41.25, P=.033, and OR 10.88, 95% CI 1.03-114.56, P=.047 respectively).
Conclusions: In the present study it was found that, during the second wave of COVID-19, only 5.1% of nursing staff had moderate/severe depressive symptoms. However, other related studies with a larger sample size suggest that this percentage is higher. To better address the mental health needs of nursing staff in pandemic situations, more emphasis should be placed on
the mental health needs of staff with chronic health problems, as well as the relevant needs of health professionals who will become ill from pandemic infectious agents.