Factors Influencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Hospital Clinical Nurses during COVID-19 in Korea: Resilience, Social Support, and Professional Pride in Nursing

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical nurses in hospitals in South Korea were exposed to extreme stress, and many continue to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study explores the factors influencing PTSD among hospital clinical nurses during COVID-19. In total, 121 hospital clinical nurses participated in 2022, providing demographic information and completing surveys designed to measure PTSD, resilience, social support, professional pride in nursing (PPN), and variables related to COVID-19. We observed statistically significantly higher levels of resilience (91.48 vs. 70.00), social support (47.37 vs. 35.41), and PPN (88.36 vs. 68.06) in the low-risk PTSD group compared with the high-risk PTSD group. Resilience was associated with a reduced risk of PTSD (OR, 0.91; 95% CI = 0.84–0.98). The subfactors of control (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.43–0.86) and sociability (OR = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.44–0.97) decreased PTSD risk. Among the social support subfactors, family support had an OR of 0.47 (95% CI = 0.26–0.86) for reducing PTSD risk. Programs involving family participation that enhance resilience and provide psychological support can help hospital nurses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic manage their PTSD. Our findings serve as foundational data to develop interventions on psychological well-being for nurses dealing with new infectious diseases.