Mental Health Status and Its Influencing Factors: The Case of Nurses Working in COVID-19 Hospitals in South Korea

Min-Young Kim and Yun-Yi Yang
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Min-Young Kim: Department of Nursing, Ulsan University, Ulsan 44610, Korea
Yun-Yi Yang: Department of Nursing, Healthcare Science & Human Ecology, Dong-Eui University, Busan 47340, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-8

Abstract: The mental health of nurses participating in patient care is under threat amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to identify the mental health status (depression, anxiety, and stress) and its influencing factors on nurses who provided patient care at a specialized hospital for COVID-19 in South Korea. Of the 180 nurses who participated in this study, 30.6% had moderate or higher levels of depression, 41% had moderate or higher anxiety levels, and 19.4% had moderate or higher stress levels. In this study, stigma influenced nurses’ mental health, such that the higher the stigma, the higher the nurses’ depression, anxiety, and stress. Depression was higher in female nurses than in male nurses, and stress was higher in charge nurses than nurses in other job positions. Therefore, a management program should be designed to improve the mental health of nurses during the current pandemic. In particular, a solution to reduce stigma is required, and the mental health of female nurses and nurses in leadership roles requires special attention.

Keywords: COVID-19; nurses; mental health status; South Korea; anxiety; depression; stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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