Gohentsemang Granny Solofelang, Coetzee Siedine Knobloch, Botha Stephani, Fourie Erika
NuMIQ Research Focus Area, School of Nursing Science, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Unit for Business, Mathematics and Informatics, North-West University, Private Bag X1290, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
BMC Nurs. 2024 Dec 18;23(1):892. doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-02559-8.
This study explored and described the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurse outcomes in the private sector of South Africa. National research shows that nurses had poor nurse outcomes prior to the pandemic, amidst these issues the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, with nurses having to play a key role in the public health response. International studies have shown that although nurses were willing to serve in this manner, they experienced moderate to high burnout, anxiety, depression, fear and exhaustion. However, this topic has received comparatively little attention in African countries.
A cross-sectional survey design was conducted. Multistage sampling was applied in selection of provinces, hospital groups, hospitals, units, and nursing personnel. Valid and reliable tools were used to measure nurse outcomes. Data was collected from April 2021 until January 2022.
Nurses described having high levels of compassion satisfaction, moderate levels of compassion fatigue, and high levels of burnout. Nurses appeared satisfied with their job and career. Almost a quarter of nurses reported the intention to leave their job, and of those about a fifth indicated that they intended to leave the profession. The nurses who routinely cared for COVID-19 patients had a small statistically significant increase in compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, emotional exhaustion and, job turnover intention, and a small statistically significant decrease in job satisfaction. Increased exposure to death and dying showed small correlations with emotional exhaustion and career turnover intentions.
The results of this study show that nurses were impacted by COVID-19 and death and dying during the pandemic, and that follow-up studies are needed post-pandemic.
It is important that burnout and compassion fatigue be addressed on an organizational level, as nurse outcomes were already negative prior to the pandemic, and all global evidence points to the worsening of these outcomes post-pandemic. There were many psychological support interventions with proven effectiveness that should be explored and applied for the South African context.
本研究探讨并描述了新冠疫情对南非私营部门护士工作成果的影响。国家研究表明，在疫情爆发前，护士的工作成果就不佳，而在这些问题之中，新冠疫情发生了，护士们不得不在公共卫生应对中发挥关键作用。国际研究表明，尽管护士们愿意以这种方式服务，但他们经历了中度到高度的职业倦怠、焦虑、抑郁、恐惧和疲惫。然而，这个话题在非洲国家相对较少受到关注。
采用横断面调查设计。在省、医院集团、医院、科室和护理人员的选择中应用多阶段抽样。使用有效且可靠的工具来衡量护士的工作成果。数据收集时间为2021年4月至2022年1月。
护士们表示有较高的同情心满意度、中度的同情心疲劳和较高的职业倦怠水平。护士们似乎对自己的工作和职业感到满意。近四分之一的护士表示有离职意向，其中约五分之一表示打算离开护理行业。经常护理新冠患者的护士在同情心疲劳、同情心满意度、情感耗竭和离职意向方面有统计学上的小幅显著增加，而工作满意度则有统计学上的小幅显著下降。更多接触死亡和濒死情况与情感耗竭和职业离职意向呈微弱的相关性。
本研究结果表明护士在疫情期间受到了新冠疫情以及死亡和濒死情况的影响，疫情后需要进行后续研究。
在组织层面解决职业倦怠和同情心疲劳很重要，因为在疫情之前护士的工作成果就已经很负面，而且所有全球证据都表明疫情后这些成果会恶化。有许多已证实有效的心理支持干预措施，应该针对南非的情况进行探索和应用。
