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Aim and objectives: To assess the prevalence of anxiety, sleep disorders and self-efficacy and their predicting factors among nurses facing COVID-19. Background: The spread of COVID-19 throughout the world determined a series of modifications of several National Health Service organisations, with a potential series of psychological consequences among nurses, who were particularly afflicted by this situation of changes and precariousness. Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out from February-April 2020. Methods: A total of 1,005 nurses employed in different Italian hospital wards, during the COVID-19 pandemic, were recruited. Analyses were based on descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression. The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was used in this study. Results: The prevalence of sleep disturbances, moderate anxiety and low self-efficacy was 71.4%, 33.23% and 50.65%, respectively. We found a positive correlation between anxiety and sleep quality (0.408; p < .0001) and negative correlations between self-efficacy and anxiety (-0.217; p < .0001) and sleep quality and self-efficacy (-0.134; p < .0001). The factor independently associated with all variables was gender. Females were more prone to sleep disturbances, anxiety and low levels of self-efficacy than males (p < .05). Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety, sleep disorders and low self-efficacy among Italian nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic was high. Healthcare managers should recognise and consider these results to reduce the risk of the onset of major mental problems that could result in post-traumatic stress disorder. Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses facing major incidents as COVID-19 pandemic are among healthcare personnel exposed to a high risk to develop psychological disturbance that should be assessed and recognised, in order to find helpful coping strategies to inform support services and avoid to hesitate in post-traumatic stress disorders

Aim The aim of this study was to explore the experience of Italian nurses engaged in caring for patients with COVID-19. Background COVID-19 found the health care world unprepared to face an emergency of such magnitude. Italy was one of the most affected European countries, with more than 250,000 cases. Understanding the impact of events of this magnitude on nurses provides a framework of knowledge on which educational training could be based to face similar situations in the future to prevent further breakdown. Methods The hermeneutic approach by Cohen was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a voice-over Internet protocol. Interviews were transcribed, read in depth and analysed. Results Twenty nurses were interviewed. Four themes were extracted: uncertainty and fear, alteration of perceptions of time and space, change in the meaning of 'to care' and changes in roles and relationships. Conclusions Psychological support in association with emergency training prevents stress and helps tackle compassion fatigue. Implications for nursing management Policies to improve nursing science should be developed to ensure better quality of care, a higher number of professionals and, consequently, an increase in the safety of patients.

In this study, we analysed the lived experiences of frontline nurses and physicians who were affected by COVID-19 through a phenomenological study, using a Cohen's phenomenological methodology. The participants were enrolled in the study in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) was a nurse or physician employed full time caring for COVID-19 patients before falling ill; (2) contracting SARS-CoV-2 during the period from February 2020 to May 2020; and (3) had recovered before enrolment in the study. Sixteen participants (60% nurses) with an average age of 45 years were included in this study. The following main themes were extrapolated from our data analysis: "fear of diagnosis", "loneliness (as isolation)", "touch of nurses" and "feeling guilty of abandonment". From our study several aspects emerge that highlight how strong the emotional impact of COVID was on nurses and physicians infected during their activities, such as, on the one hand, feelings of fear, loneliness, and, on the other hand, the impotence of not being able to help.