Psychological Problems of the Nursing Staff in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review
نویسندگان
1 Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, Iran Helal Institute of Applied-Science and Technology, Research Center for Health Management in Mass Gathering, Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
2 PhD, Iran-Helal Institute of Applied-Science and Technology, Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran. Research Center for Health Management in Mass Gathering, Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
doi
10.32592/ircmj.2021.23.6.501چکیده
Background: Given the fact that nurses are at the frontier of taking care of COVID-19 patients, they are directly or indirectly faced with many psychological problems. Objectives: The present research used a systematic review approach to explore the psychological problems of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Methods: This systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Cochran Library, Scopus, EMBASE, Science Direct, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases until May 21, 2020. These databases were searched using some keywords and the papers with a focus on the psychological problems of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic were selected. Results: Primarily, the academic papers were searched using their titles, abstracts, and full texts. In total, 10 articles were selected for the final analysis; nine of them were cross-sectional in type and one of them was qualitative and phenomenological. Moreover, seven studies were carried out in the Chinese context and were followed by other similar studies performed in Italy, Pakistan, India, and Singapore. Based on the findings, the most prevalent psychological problems were panic, anxiety, stress, sleep disorders, discomfort, depression, lack of self-control, overstimulation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Conclusion: During the epidemic and pandemic of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, a wide range of psychological problems arise among the healthcare staff, especially nurses. As nurses are at the frontier of taking care of and treating COVID-19 patients, they need to be fully supported. Healthcare policymakers should devise educational and psychological supporting protocols to improve the mental health of nurses.
