Investigation of the reasons that affect nurses mentally negatively during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

It was aimed to investigate the causes of negative psychological states that may occur in nurses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the degree of importance of thesereasons. This is a cross-sectional study conducted in two government hospitals. The data were obtained from 134 nurses by the face-to-face survey method. First, scientificstudies on the topic were examined, and the authors created a pool of criteria. These criteria were examined one by one under the supervision of experts with experiencein the field. In the review, the criteria that dealt with a similar topic were combined, the unsuitable criteria were removed from the pool, and the criteria that dealt withthe topic in the same scope were grouped under headings. As a result, 20 final criteria in total were determined under 3 different headings. The headings were grouped asnegative situations that individuals feel about themselves (5 criteria), negative situations that individuals feel about their families (5 criteria) and negative situations thatindividuals feel about their profession (10 criteria). In the second part, 16 questions were created to collect the participants' demographic and work-related information. TheAnalytic Hierarchy Process Method was used to analyze the data. When the answers (general) were examined, regardless of sociodemographic and working conditions,it was seen that “the feeling of hopelessness and uncertainty” was the primary feeling among the identified negative situations that the individuals felt about themselves.At the top of the participants’ negative feelings regarding their families, “the anxiety of transmitting the virus to their family, friends and colleagues” was found, whereas“inequality in supporting employees in terms of wages” came at the top of their negative situations related to their profession. In the fight against the pandemic, measurestaken by policymakers and decision-makers are of great importance in protecting nurses and ensuring the sustainability of the health system. This study demonstrates theprimary corrective-preventive actions by revealing in which cases nurses feel more negativity.Keywords: Nurse, COVID-19 pandemic, mental problems, AHP analysis