Fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia among undergraduate nursing students in Oman
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Abstract
Background & Aim: The emergence of COVID-19 has created fears, worries, and anxiety among individuals worldwide. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of mental health problems (fear, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia) and their contributing factors among undergraduate nursing students in Oman two years after the start of the pandemic.
Methods & Materials: A cross-sectional study was employed for this study. The questionnaire was distributed electronically via Qualtrics® Online survey software. It consisted of items relating to detailed demographics, background history, and standard scales, including the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index.
Results: The sample comprised 548 nursing students. The participants had a mean FVC-19 score of 16.39, with a standard deviation of 6.04. The overall prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia among nursing students was 94%, 70%, 53%, and 38%, respectively. There was a significant relationship between fear of COVID-19 (p< 0.05) and stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Conclusion: Fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia pose notable challenges for undergraduate nursing students. Identifying these mental health issues early is crucial as well as introducing preventive and supportive interventions tailored to the specific contributing factors. This is essential to mitigate the potential for more severe psychological consequences among nursing students.
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11. Alsolais A, Alquwez N, Alotaibi KA, Alqarni AS, Almalki M, Alsolami F, Almazan J, Cruz JP. Risk perceptions, fear, depression, anxiety, stress and coping among Saudi nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of mental health. 2021 Mar 4;30(2):194-201.
12. Kuru Alici N, Ozturk Copur E. Anxiety and fear of COVID-19 among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive correlation study. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. 2022 Jan;58(1):141-8. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12851.
13. Savitsky B, Findling Y, Ereli A, Hendel T. Anxiety and coping strategies among nursing students during the covid-19 pandemic. Nurse Education in Practice. 2020 Jul 1;46:102809.
14. Sancar B, Yalcin AS, Acikgoz I. An examination of anxiety levels of nursing students caring for patients in terminal period. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2018 Jan;34(1):94-9.
15. Ahorsu DK, Lin CY, Imani V, Saffari M, Griffiths MD, Pakpour AH. The fear of COVID-19 scale: development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2020 Mar 27:1-9.
16. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983 Dec 1:385-96.
17. Jahrami H, BaHammam AS, AlGahtani H, Ebrahim A, Faris M, AlEid K, Saif Z, Haji E, Dhahi A, Marzooq H, Hubail S. The examination of sleep quality for frontline healthcare workers during the outbreak of COVID-19. Sleep and Breathing. 2021 Mar;25:503-11.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-020-02135-9
18. Roberti JW, Harrington LN, Storch EA. Further psychometric support for the 10‐item version of the perceived stress scale. Journal of College Counseling. 2006 Sep;9(2):135-47.
19. Zigmond AS, Snaith RP. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta psychiatrica scandinavica. 1983 Jun;67(6):361-70.
20. Bjelland I, Dahl AA, Haug TT, Neckelmann D. The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: an updated literature review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2002 Feb 1;52(2):69-77.
21. Morin CM, Belleville G, Bélanger L, Ivers H. The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep. 2011 May 1;34(5):601-8.
22. Beisland EG, Gjeilo KH, Andersen JR, Bratås O, Bø B, Haraldstad K, Hjelmeland IH, Iversen MM, Løyland B, Norekvål TM, Riiser K. Quality of life and fear of COVID-19 in 2600 baccalaureate nursing students at five universities: A cross-sectional study. Health and Qquality of Life Outcomes. 2021 Dec;19(1):1-10.
23. Medina Fernández IA, Carreño Moreno S, Chaparro Díaz L, Gallegos-Torres RM, Medina Fernández JA, Hernández Martínez EK. Medo, estresse e conhecimento do COVID-19 em estudantes e recém-formados em enfermagem no México. Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. 2021 Apr;39(1) :e05.
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v39n1e05
24. Karawekpanyawong N, Likhitsathian S, Juntasopeepun P, Reznik A, Srisurapanont M, Isralowitz R. Thai medical and nursing students: COVID-19 fear associated with mental health and substance use. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2022 Jul 4;27(5):474-7.
25. Mulyadi M, Tonapa SI, Luneto S, Lin WT, Lee BO. Prevalence of mental health problems and sleep disturbances in nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurse Education in Practice. 2021 Nov 1;57:103228.
26. Sousa GM, Tavares VD, de Meiroz Grilo ML, Coelho ML, Lima-Araújo GL, Schuch FB, Galvão-Coelho NL. Mental health in COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-review of prevalence meta-analyses. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021 Sep 21;12:703838.
27. Lumley SF, O’Donnell D, Stoesser NE, Matthews PC, Howarth A, Hatch SB, Marsden BD, Cox S, James T, Warren F, Peck LJ. Antibody status and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021 Feb 11;384(6):533-40.
28. Thornton TM, Decker SA, Roe EA. Fear of contagion among nursing students in the era of COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Education. 2021 Jul 1;60(7):404-7.
29. Yazici HGN, Ökten Ç. Nursing students' clinical practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: Fear of COVID-19 and anxiety levels. Nursing Forum. 2022 Mar;57(2):298-304. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12680.
30. Suliman WA, Abu-Moghli FA, Khalaf I, Zumot AF, Nabolsi M. Experiences of nursing students under the unprecedented abrupt online learning format forced by the national curfew due to COVID-19: A qualitative research study. Nurse Education Today. 2021 May 1;100:104829.
2. World Health Organization. Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov). Accessed 14 Jun 2020.
3. World Health Organization. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. 2023. Available from: https://covid19.who.int. Accessed 1 Sep 2023
4. Albikawi ZF. Fear Related to COVID-19, Mental Health Issues, and Predictors of Insomnia among Female Nursing College Students during the Pandemic. Healthcare. 2023; 11(2):174. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11020174
5. Çürük GN, Özgül E, Karadağ S. The effect of COVID-19 on fear, anxiety, and sleep in nursing students. Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971-). 2023 Feb 13:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-023-03308-7
6. Haug N, Geyrhofer L, Londei A, Dervic E, Desvars-Larrive A, Loreto V, Pinior B, Thurner S, Klimek P. Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions. Nature Human Behaviour. 2020 Dec;4(12):1303-12.
7. Shin M, Hickey K. Needs a little TLC: Examining college students’ emergency remote teaching and learning experiences during COVID-19. Journal of Further and Higher Education. 2021 Aug 9;45(7):973-86.
8. Bernal JL, Andrews N, Gower C, Robertson C, Stowe J, Tessier E, Simmons R, Cottrell S, Roberts R, O’Doherty M, Brown K. Effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines on covid-19 related symptoms, hospital admissions, and mortality in older adults in England: test negative case-control study. BMJ. 2021 May 13;373: n1088. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1088.
9. Browning MH, Larson LR, Sharaievska I, Rigolon A, McAnirlin O, Mullenbach L, Cloutier S, Vu TM, Thomsen J, Reigner N, Metcalf EC. Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States. PloS One. 2021 Jan 7;16(1):e0245327.
10. Li Y, Wang A, Wu Y, Han N, Huang H. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021 Jul 14;12:669119. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669119.
11. Alsolais A, Alquwez N, Alotaibi KA, Alqarni AS, Almalki M, Alsolami F, Almazan J, Cruz JP. Risk perceptions, fear, depression, anxiety, stress and coping among Saudi nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of mental health. 2021 Mar 4;30(2):194-201.
12. Kuru Alici N, Ozturk Copur E. Anxiety and fear of COVID-19 among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive correlation study. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. 2022 Jan;58(1):141-8. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12851.
13. Savitsky B, Findling Y, Ereli A, Hendel T. Anxiety and coping strategies among nursing students during the covid-19 pandemic. Nurse Education in Practice. 2020 Jul 1;46:102809.
14. Sancar B, Yalcin AS, Acikgoz I. An examination of anxiety levels of nursing students caring for patients in terminal period. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2018 Jan;34(1):94-9.
15. Ahorsu DK, Lin CY, Imani V, Saffari M, Griffiths MD, Pakpour AH. The fear of COVID-19 scale: development and initial validation. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. 2020 Mar 27:1-9.
16. Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983 Dec 1:385-96.
17. Jahrami H, BaHammam AS, AlGahtani H, Ebrahim A, Faris M, AlEid K, Saif Z, Haji E, Dhahi A, Marzooq H, Hubail S. The examination of sleep quality for frontline healthcare workers during the outbreak of COVID-19. Sleep and Breathing. 2021 Mar;25:503-11.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-020-02135-9
18. Roberti JW, Harrington LN, Storch EA. Further psychometric support for the 10‐item version of the perceived stress scale. Journal of College Counseling. 2006 Sep;9(2):135-47.
19. Zigmond AS, Snaith RP. The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta psychiatrica scandinavica. 1983 Jun;67(6):361-70.
20. Bjelland I, Dahl AA, Haug TT, Neckelmann D. The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale: an updated literature review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2002 Feb 1;52(2):69-77.
21. Morin CM, Belleville G, Bélanger L, Ivers H. The Insomnia Severity Index: psychometric indicators to detect insomnia cases and evaluate treatment response. Sleep. 2011 May 1;34(5):601-8.
22. Beisland EG, Gjeilo KH, Andersen JR, Bratås O, Bø B, Haraldstad K, Hjelmeland IH, Iversen MM, Løyland B, Norekvål TM, Riiser K. Quality of life and fear of COVID-19 in 2600 baccalaureate nursing students at five universities: A cross-sectional study. Health and Qquality of Life Outcomes. 2021 Dec;19(1):1-10.
23. Medina Fernández IA, Carreño Moreno S, Chaparro Díaz L, Gallegos-Torres RM, Medina Fernández JA, Hernández Martínez EK. Medo, estresse e conhecimento do COVID-19 em estudantes e recém-formados em enfermagem no México. Investigación y Educación en Enfermería. 2021 Apr;39(1) :e05.
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v39n1e05
24. Karawekpanyawong N, Likhitsathian S, Juntasopeepun P, Reznik A, Srisurapanont M, Isralowitz R. Thai medical and nursing students: COVID-19 fear associated with mental health and substance use. Journal of Loss and Trauma. 2022 Jul 4;27(5):474-7.
25. Mulyadi M, Tonapa SI, Luneto S, Lin WT, Lee BO. Prevalence of mental health problems and sleep disturbances in nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurse Education in Practice. 2021 Nov 1;57:103228.
26. Sousa GM, Tavares VD, de Meiroz Grilo ML, Coelho ML, Lima-Araújo GL, Schuch FB, Galvão-Coelho NL. Mental health in COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-review of prevalence meta-analyses. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021 Sep 21;12:703838.
27. Lumley SF, O’Donnell D, Stoesser NE, Matthews PC, Howarth A, Hatch SB, Marsden BD, Cox S, James T, Warren F, Peck LJ. Antibody status and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health care workers. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021 Feb 11;384(6):533-40.
28. Thornton TM, Decker SA, Roe EA. Fear of contagion among nursing students in the era of COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Education. 2021 Jul 1;60(7):404-7.
29. Yazici HGN, Ökten Ç. Nursing students' clinical practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: Fear of COVID-19 and anxiety levels. Nursing Forum. 2022 Mar;57(2):298-304. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12680.
30. Suliman WA, Abu-Moghli FA, Khalaf I, Zumot AF, Nabolsi M. Experiences of nursing students under the unprecedented abrupt online learning format forced by the national curfew due to COVID-19: A qualitative research study. Nurse Education Today. 2021 May 1;100:104829.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 10 No 4 (2023): Autumn | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/npt.v10i4.14078 | |
| Keywords | ||
| COVID-19; nursing students; fear; stress; anxiety; depression; insomnia | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Al Maqbali M, Alsaraireh M, AlMekkawi M, Melhem O, Bashayreh I. Fear of COVID-19, stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia among undergraduate nursing students in Oman. NPT. 2023;10(4):318-326.
