Work Engagement in Nurses during the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Regina Allande-Cussó,Carlos Ruiz-Frutos,Sara Domínguez-Salas,Carmen Rodríguez-Domínguez,Juan Gómez-Salgado,Juan Jesús García-Iglesias

doi:10.3390/healthcare9030253

Abstract

In some areas of Spain, health services and professionals working in the front line against the Sars-Cov-2 virus have been widely overwhelmed at all levels. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the level of work engagement of Spanish nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 510 active nurses from all over Spain, without age exclusion, who voluntarily accepted to participate in the study. Work engagement was assessed with the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) questionnaire, through an online questionnaire and non-probabilistic snowball sampling. The results showed a mean age of 45.9 years (SD = 10.7 years), most of them women (78.1%), and 58.5% were in primary care. The mean score for the UWES-9 questionnaire was 4.6 points (SD = 1.35). The categorical regression analysis performed revealed an R2 value of 0.75 and a significance of p < 0.01 in the sex, type of unit, and training variables. The Spanish nurses in the sample present high levels of work engagement in all dimensions in general, although the lowest mean scores are found in the vigor dimension, among men, and nurses working in hospital and critical units.

Highlights

The results showed a mean age of 45.9 years (SD = 10.7 years), most of the participants being women (77.4%) (Table 1)
In view of the impact of the current pandemic, the objective of this study was to evaluate the level of work engagement of Spanish nurses during the early stages of the health crisis caused by COVID-19 disease in Spain, considering sociodemographic and work-related variables
Spanish nurses in the sample have high levels of work engagement in all dimensions, being somewhat higher than in studies developed before the COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Introduction

The pandemic caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) is having dire social, cultural, and economic consequences, to a greater or lesser extent, in all countries worldwide [1]. In the most severe cases, it can trigger severe respiratory failure syndrome, with multiorgan failure, as a result of the so-called “cytokine storm” that can lead to the death of the individual [3]. In this sense, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion