Abstract:
Purpose: To evaluate the severity and longitudinal trends of depression in critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in the US during global pandemic.
Methods: The study employed longitudinal mixed methods. Using the Patients Health Questioned (PHQ-9), nurses were sent electronic surveys at baseline, 1 month, and between 3 and 6 months to measure the severity and trends of depression during the prevaccination stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. One-no-one interviews were conducted with critical care nurses to evaluate their depressive symptoms.
Results: Forty-eight nurses completed the questionnaire at baseline, 40 completed 1-month surveys, and 20 completed the 3 to 6 month surveys. The means PHQ-9 score was 5,85, 6.20, and 8.30 at baseline, at 1 month, and at 3 to 6 months, respectively. PHQ-9 score increased significantly over time (estimate = 1.120, P = .037). The probability of participants being moderately to severely depressed was 0.980 (P = .049) at baseline, 0.990 (P = .013) at 1 month, and 1.0 (P = . 002) at 3 to 6 months. Fourteen nurses were included in a single, one-on-one interview. Eight major themes were found in qualitative analyses. For example, nurses expressed fear of spreading COVID-19 to their loved one and community. Common themes identified within the interviews included uncertainly, limited human interaction, fluctuations in mood, life is in my hands, a threat to others, positive and negative coping, nurses as scape-goals, and emerging vulnerability to COVID-19 exposure. All 14 nurses who care for patients with COVID-19 and their levels of depression to improve practice at the bedside further and develop policies to promote their well-being.