Quality of Care and Mental Health among Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Canonical Correlation Analysis

Abstract

Background and objectives: Nurses have experienced severe psychological stress which seriously affected their mental health during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to exposure to numerous critically ill patients, increased working time, and their colleagues’ disease or demise. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine clinical nurses' mental health status and elucidate its relationship with the quality of care provided by them. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2020 on the nurses working at two hospitals affiliated with Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. A total of 104 nurses were selected from all wards via convenience sampling. The data were collected using the Quality Patient Care Scale and Goldberg and Williams's General Health Questionnaire to check nurses’ general health status. Statistical tests, including canonical correlation analysis, were used to analyze the data in SPSS software (version 20). Results: There was a negative correlation between mental health and the quality of care provided by male ( =-0.556; P<0.001) and female ( =-0.351; P=0.017) nurses. Social dysfunction, anxiety, and insomnia in male nurses, as well as somatic symptoms and social dysfunction in female nurses, had the largest share of their general health, while physical care had the largest share of nursing care quality. Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, female nurses had better mental health status and provided higher-quality nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to male nurses. This higher quality may be attributed to women's better mental health status. The important findings of the current study highlight the necessity of regular programs for the improvement of nurses' mental health, thereby enhancing the quality of nursing care.