School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Quality Management Support Unit, Avenal State Prison, Avenal, CA 93204, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Sep 2;19(17):10955. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191710955.
The psychological health and work challenges of nurses working in prisons during the COVID-19 pandemic are understudied. We evaluated the work and wellbeing characteristics of a California prison nurse group, with a comparison to those of a community nurse group. From May to November 2020, an online survey measured psychosocial and organizational work factors, sleep habits, psychological characteristics, COVID-19 impacts, and pre-pandemic recall among 62 prison nurses and 47 community nurses. Prison nurses had significantly longer work hours (54.73 ± 14.52, < 0.0001), higher pandemic-related work demands, and less sleep hours (5.36 ± 1.30, < 0.0001) than community nurses. Community nurses had significantly higher pandemic-related fear levels (work infection: = 0.0115, general: = 0.0025) and lower perceived personal protective equipment (PPE) supply ( = 0.0103). Between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, both groups had significantly increased night shift assignments and decreased sleep hours, but the prison group had increased work hours. Although not statistically significant, both groups had high occupational stress and prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Our results indicate that prison nurses experienced work and wellbeing challenges during the pandemic. Future research and practice ought to address nurses' workload, PPE, and psychological resources in correctional facilities and healthcare organizations.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，从事监狱工作的护士的心理健康和工作挑战尚未得到充分研究。我们评估了加利福尼亚州监狱护士组和社区护士组的工作和健康特征。在 2020 年 5 月至 11 月期间，一项在线调查测量了 62 名监狱护士和 47 名社区护士的社会心理和组织工作因素、睡眠习惯、心理特征、COVID-19 影响以及大流行前的回忆。监狱护士的工作时间明显长于社区护士（54.73±14.52，<0.0001），与大流行相关的工作需求更高，睡眠时间更少（5.36±1.30，<0.0001）。社区护士的大流行相关恐惧水平明显更高（工作感染：=0.0115，一般：=0.0025），对个人防护设备（PPE）的供应感到不足（=0.0103）。在大流行前和大流行期间，两组护士的夜班分配和睡眠时间都明显减少，但监狱组的工作时间增加。尽管没有统计学意义，但两组护士的职业压力和创伤后应激症状的发生率都很高。我们的研究结果表明，监狱护士在大流行期间面临工作和健康挑战。未来的研究和实践应解决惩教机构和医疗机构中护士的工作量、PPE 和心理资源问题。
