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Aim: To investigate the mental well‐being of early career nurses working in the United Kingdom during the COVID‐19 pandemic, with a particular emphasis on symptoms related to post‐traumatic stress disorder. Design: A longitudinal survey study. Methods: Data were acquired at three timepoints during the COVID‐19 pandemic (between May 2020 and March 2021) to determine whether symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder persisted over time. Quantitative measures of well‐being were supplemented with survey data on the nurses' experiences of working during the pandemic. Results: Twenty‐seven per cent of participants suffered from persistent symptoms of post‐traumatic stress while working as nurses during the pandemic. The nurses' baseline resilience, as well as their perception of the quality of their work environment, were significant negative predictors of symptoms of post‐traumatic stress. Participants identified a range of strategies that would have helped them during the crisis, including visible, consistent and empathetic leadership, adequate training and a supportive work environment. Conclusion: The context of the pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of the psychological well‐being of early career nurses in the workforce. Immediate implementation of some of the more simple interventions suggested in this paper would provide early career nurses with rapid support. More complex support mechanisms should be given immediate consideration, with a view to implementation in the longer term. Implications for the Profession: This study contributes new knowledge about the psychological well‐being of early career nurses working during the pandemic and suggests support mechanisms that will be crucial for the retention of these nurses in the profession. A measurement of resilience may be useful for determining the appropriate level of support to provide to early career nurses. Impact: Early career nurses are vulnerable to attrition from the profession. This could be exacerbated if the psychological well‐being of these nurses is not being supported.Around 25% of early career nurses suffered from persistent symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder while working as nurses during the height of the pandemic, which is a novel finding compared to other longitudinal studies.Understanding the psychological well‐being of early career nurses working during a crisis period (such as a pandemic) equips nurse managers with appropriate strategies to improve nurses' emotional health and to enhance their retention within the workforce.The current findings may be of interest to clinical practitioners who have responsibility for the retention of nursing staff. No patient or public contribution. One of the authors is a statistician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To explore associations among breastfeeding duration, maternal personality and maternal attitudes and experiences of breastfeeding. Background Understanding influences on breastfeeding initiation and duration is critical to increasing breastfeeding rates and supporting new mothers. Maternal characteristics such as self-efficacy, knowledge and confidence are known to enable women to breastfeed, but little is known about the influence of maternal trait personality on breastfeeding. Design An exploratory cross-sectional survey. Method A total of 602 mothers with an infant aged 6-12 months old completed a self-report questionnaire examining maternal trait personality, breastfeeding duration and attitudes and experiences of breastfeeding. Data were collected between March-June 2009. Results Mothers who reported high levels of extraversion, emotional stability and conscientiousness were significantly more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding for a longer duration. Attitudes and experiences significantly associated with these personality traits such as perceived difficulties and lack of support may explain these patterns. For example, characteristics associated with introversion and anxiety may prevent women from seeking support or challenging negative attitudes of others at this critical time. Conclusion Understanding the influence of maternal personality may thus be a useful tool in antenatal support to recognize women who may need extra, directed support while facilitating discussion of potential barriers to breastfeeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

anthony d., baggott r., tanner j., jones k., evans h., perkins g. & palmer h. ( 2012) Health, lifestyle, belief and knowledge differences between two ethnic groups with specific reference to tobacco, diet and physical activity. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(11), 2496-2503. Abstract Aims. To compare physical activity levels, body mass index, habitual diet, tobacco use and prevalence of non-communicable disease between the two ethnic groups and to identify predictors for differences between groups. Background. Tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity are major lifestyle risk factors for chronic cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, diabetes and chronic lung diseases. There are higher risk and incidence of these diseases in some ethnic groups, for example Asians have higher incidence of diabetes. Design. Cross sectional survey. Methods. Cross sectional survey of Asians of Indian descent and white British adults conducted between October-December 2009. Main outcome variables were lifestyle behaviours and BMI. Self-reported disease diagnosis was also collected. In a regression analysis, predictors of outcome variables were demographic variables and beliefs/attitudes/knowledge towards lifestyle behaviours. Results/Findings. Body mass index, tobacco use and non-communicable disease (except diabetes) were lower in Indians. Indians reported lower physical activity levels and greater salt use than Whites. Tobacco use was higher in Whites, but knowledge, attitudes and beliefs were similar between Whites and Indians. Conclusion. Health risk behaviour and morbidity are different between the two ethnic groups. Gender, age, educational level, beliefs, attitudes and knowledge do not explain these differences. Health promotion that aims to improve knowledge will probably not work and innovative methods are needed to improve health in high risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]