Factors of psychological burden faced by nurses working in COVID-19 patient wards

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K11140
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 58080:Gerontological nursing and community health nursing-related
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: Sakamoto Yoko 岡山大学, 大学病院, 助教 (80845818)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 三橋 利晴 岡山大学, 大学病院, 助教 (30716890)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: COVID-19 / 看護師 / ストレス要因 / メンタルヘルス / 計量テキスト分析 / KH Coder

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to clarify the anxieties and challenges faced by nurses in dealing with COVID-19 patients during the early stages of the pandemic. Based on a self-administered questionnaire conducted in Okayama Prefecture, we performed quantitative text analysis using KHcoder on the free-text responses of 159 nurses. We focused on three main items: acceptance, challenges, and proposals. We conducted morphological analysis to extract the top 150 frequent words and created co-occurrence networks and clusters. We also analyzed the differences in word usage by years of service. The results indicated strong anxiety and dissatisfaction regarding acceptance, with opinions varying by years of service. Challenges highlighted differences in infection control measures across departments and the need for mental health support. Proposals called for increased mental health support and opportunities to hear the opinions of frontline staff.

Free Research Field

公衆衛生学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

この研究の学術的意義は、COVID-19パンデミック初期における看護師の心理的負担や課題を定量的に分析することで、看護現場の実態を明らかにした点にある。特に、形態素解析や共起ネットワーク分析を用いることで、看護師の経験や感情を詳細に把握し、勤続年数による意見の違いを明確に示したことが新規性を持つ。社会的意義としては、本研究結果を基に、今後のパンデミックや緊急事態における看護師支援策の改善に寄与する点が挙げられる。特に、メンタルヘルス支援や現場の声を反映した対策の重要性が示されており、これにより看護師のストレス軽減や働きやすい環境整備が期待される。