Quality of life vs coping with stress by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ewa Kupcewicz^1*Grażyna Piwko²Elżbieta Araminowicz-Kierklo²Katarzyna Młynarska-Antochow³

• ¹Department of Nursing, Collegium Medicum, 14 C Zolnierska Street, 10-719, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
• ²Branch in Elk, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
• ³Department of Nursing, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the greatest global health challenges of the 21st century, had a significant impact on the quality of life of healthcare personnel. It is par-ticularly nurses who, as front-line workers in the fight against the pandemic, have experi-enced a deterioration in their physical and psychosocial health. The increased workload, fear of infection, and stress associated with the epidemic situation had a significant impact on their well-being and quality of life. Aim of the study: To understand how nurses perceived their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine the role of stress-coping strategies in relation to the consequences of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections. Materials and methods: The study employed the diagnostic survey method with a group of 202 nurses working in hospitals in the city of Ełk between March and May 2021. The empir-ical data were collected using the WHOQoL-Bref Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Mini-COPE inventory, and a questionnaire developed by the authors of the study. Results: Significant correlations were observed between six stress-coping strategies and the psychological domain of the nurses' quality of life. These include: "Active coping" (r=0.242; p<0.001), "Positive revalidation" (r=0.153; p<0.03), "Self-blaming" (r=-0.152; p<0.03) and "Seeking instrumental support" (r=0.227; p<0.001). Analysis of predictors of quality of life showed that three stress-coping strategy groups, i.e. "A sense of humour", "Helplessness" and "Seeking support", achieved the R² value in the regression model falling within the range of 0.02–0.08. Conclusions: Choosing appropriate stress-coping strategies can be an important factor in determining the nurses' quality of life during crises such as a pandemic.