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BACKGROUND

The Covid-19 virus caused increased challenges for nursing professionals.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to explore psychosocial stress in the work environment of nursing staff resulting from the pandemic within an Austrian hospital. In addition, differences in the experience between nurses and nursing assistants, in leadership and management positions, as well as between wards with (suspected) Covid-19 positive patients and wards without Covid-19 patients will be recorded.

DESIGN AND METHODS

In a mixed-method study, a web-based survey was conducted using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). The qualitative data was collected with four open questions. The results were analysed descriptively and inferentially with a one-way analysis of variance and the Mann-Whitney-U test. The qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 104 participants completed the survey. The results show that there is a burden on nursing professionals (p = 0.03) within the area of emotional and quantitative demands (p < 0.01), but no differences between the individual nursing groups emerged. Leadership and management positions report less stress than the rest of the nursing staff (p ≤ 0.05). When distinguishing between Covid-19 (suspected) wards and non-Covid-19 wards, two scales (demands for hiding emotions % possibilities for development) were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.04).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study illustrate the psychosocial burden of the Covid-19 pandemic on nurses with different characteristics and are in line with current research. Further studies should address the impact of the burden on nursing practice.