Anxiety Levels Among Emergency Unit Turkey Nurses During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the anxiety level of nurses working in the emergency room during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses working at a hospital's emergency department between October 2, 2022, and November 15, 2022, participated in this descriptive study. Permission was obtained from the ethics committee, the institution, and the nurses prior to the study. The study's results were gathered using a face-to-face interview technique using a questionnaire—the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory. The data was analysed using the Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney U, and the Kruskal Wallis tests. According to the findings, the majority of the nurses were between the ages of 26 and 34, undergraduates, and female. The mean scores of the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory of the nurses were found to be 46.0±9.6-47.1±9.2, respectively. It was determined that gender, age, education level, number of people living together, chronic illness, working conditions and increased workload increased the state-continuity anxiety score. It was also determined that there was a significant relationship between working order, alcohol use, exposure to violence and the State-Trait anxiety score. It was concluded that nurses had moderate anxiety. It was determined that working conditions, prolonged working hours, and lack of personnel increased this level of anxiety. It is advised to assess emergency room nurses' anxiety levels, identify the variables that exacerbate anxiety, and take the required precautions.