Dataset Information

Alleviating psychological symptoms in nurses during disease outbreaks: An integrative review.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

To explore interventions and coping strategies used to treat the psychological symptoms associated with compassion fatigue among nurses.

Background

The rapid transmission of infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19) has put nurses, around the world, at high risk of developing profound psychological health issues due to compassion fatigue. If unrelieved, compassion fatigue can lead to catastrophic psychological symptoms such as depression, stress, anxiety, and insomnia, negatively impacting patient care. This necessitates interventions to prevent or mitigate the psychological symptoms of compassion fatigue.

Method

Following Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review method, the literature search comprised three databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE-OVID, and Scopus.

Results

The 11 included studies were categorized into four themes: (1) using relaxation strategies, (2) neutralizing emotional trauma, (3) enhancing nurses' preparedness for confronting disasters, and (4) educating nurses about coping strategies to manage their psychological issues.

Conclusion

Researchers studied several coping strategies and interventions. There is a need for policymakers' support and hospital-level interventions. Early interventions may prevent or relieve psychological issues.

Implications

The findings have implications for hospital leaders around the world to initiate interventions that teach nurses strategies to cope with stressful events. Future researchers might consider long-term supports and multiple interventions that target several leading causes of psychological symptoms among nurses before, during, and after high-stress situations. Policymakers around the world could use the findings to initiate policies to facilitate nurses' access to needed resources, hence protecting their mental health and increasing the quality of patient care.

SUBMITTER: Hawsawi S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9111607 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Alleviating psychological symptoms in nurses during disease outbreaks: An integrative review.

Hawsawi Samah S

International nursing review 20220423 4

<h4>Aim</h4>To explore interventions and coping strategies used to treat the psychological symptoms associated with compassion fatigue among nurses.<h4>Background</h4>The rapid transmission of infectious diseases (e.g., COVID-19) has put nurses, around the world, at high risk of developing profound psychological health issues due to compassion fatigue. If unrelieved, compassion fatigue can lead to catastrophic psychological symptoms such as depression, stress, anxiety, and insomnia, negatively i ...[more]

PMID: 35460265

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe potential psychological health impact of pandemics on nurses has been increasingly widely recognised, as have recommendations to establish support measures for nurses' well-being. Despite the availability of support measures significant number of nurses still experienced burnout and mental distress during Covid-19. Few efforts have been made in the wider literature to understand how nurses experience well-being support or how they perceive it affects their well-being during pandemics. In the Middle East, understanding and exploring well-being support measures during pandemics from nurses' perspectives has not received significant attention.ObjectiveTo investigate nurses' perspectives and experiences of well-being support measures during prior pandemics and the Covid-19 pandemic in the Middle East.MethodsA systematic qualitative review was undertaken utilising the JBI model as a framework. Searches were carried out in databases comprised CINAHL, MEDLINE, NUsearch Library of Nottingham University and Google Scholar. Moreover, a manual search through reference lists for relevant studies were carried out.Data extraction and synthesisEleven studies were included in the review. The findings from the included qualitative studies were extracted using the JBI-QARI data extraction tool for qualitative research. The results were synthesised using a meta-synthesis in line with the JBI approach.ResultsThe included studies yielded an aggregate of 111 findings and were categorised into 14 categories, followed by four synthesised findings. These were: [1] nurses experienced challenges during MERS, yet different strategies were implemented by leaders and nurses to manage these challenges; [2] some well-being support measures were unfulfilled during Covid-19; [3] additional aspects compounded negatively on nurses' well- being; and [4] nurses showed maturity during Covid-19.ConclusionIn comparison to prior health emergencies, well-being support measures during Covid-19 were not sufficiently adopted. Nurse policymakers and managers should consider these support measures to correspond with nurses' needs and explore the contextual factors that affect their implementation.Trial registrationPROSPERO (CRD42022344005).

Project description:BackgroundMass outbreaks such as pandemics are associated with mental health problems requiring effective psychological interventions. Although several forms of psychological interventions may be advocated or used, some may lack strong evidence of efficacy and some may not have been evaluated in mass infectious disease outbreaks. This paper reports a systematic review of published studies (PROSPERO CRD:42020182094. Registered: 24.04.2020) examining the types and effectiveness of psychological support interventions for the general population and healthcare workers exposed to mass infectious disease outbreaks.MethodsA systematic review was conducted. Randomised Controlled Trials (RCT) were identified through searches of electronic databases: Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO (EBSCO) and the Cochrane Library Database from inception to 06.05.2021 using an agreed search strategy. Studies were included if they assessed the effectiveness of interventions providing psychological support to the general population and / or healthcare workers exposed to mass infectious disease outbreaks. Studies were excluded if they focused on man-made or natural disasters or if they included armed forces, police, fire-fighters or coastguards.ResultsTwenty-two RCTs were included after screening. Various psychological interventions have been used: therapist-guided therapy (n = 1); online counselling (n = 1); 'Emotional Freedom Techniques' (n = 1); mobile phone apps (n = 2); brief crisis intervention (n = 1); psychological-behavioural intervention (n = 1); Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (n = 3); progressive muscle relaxation (n = 2); emotional-based directed drawing (n = 1); psycho-educational debriefing (n = 1); guided imagery (n = 1); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (n = 1); expressive writing (n = 2); tailored intervention for patients with a chronic medical conditions (n = 1); community health workers (n = 1); self-guided psychological intervention (n = 1), and a digital behaviour change intervention (n = 1). Meta-analyses showed that psychological interventions had a statistically significant benefit in managing depression (Standardised Mean Difference [SMD]: -0.40; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: - 0.76 to - 0.03), and anxiety (SMD: -0.72; 95% CI: - 1.03 to - 0.40). The effect on stress was equivocal (SMD: 0.16; 95% CI: - 0.19 to 0.51). The heterogeneity of studies, studies' high risk of bias, and the lack of available evidence means uncertainty remains.ConclusionsFurther RCTs and intervention studies involving representative study populations are needed to inform the development of targeted and tailored psychological interventions for those exposed to mass infectious disease outbreaks.

Dataset Information

Alleviating psychological symptoms in nurses during disease outbreaks: An integrative review.

Aim

Background

Method

Results

Conclusion

Implications

Publications

Alleviating psychological symptoms in nurses during disease outbreaks: An integrative review.

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