South African nursing students' stress and resilience during the global COVID-19 health crisis

• Published in: Journal of psychology in Africa Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 169 - 175
• Main Authors: Steenkamp, Ilze, Chipps, Jennifer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 03-03-2024; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Coping; coping mechanisms; COVID-19; educational disruption; Medical conditions; mental health; Nursing; pandemic challenges; Pandemics; Protective factors; Psychological distress; Resilience; Self-efficacy; Sleep deprivation; Spirituality; Stressful events; Students; Sympathy; Well being
• ISSN: 1433-0237; 1815-5626
• DOI: 10.1080/14330237.2024.2335867

The study aimed to investigate nursing students' psychological distress and their response to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 370 South African nursing students (female= 75%; mean age= 21.9 years, SD = 3.9 years). Students completed the following scales: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue, Kessler Psychological Distress, and Response to Stressful Experiences. Findings from the descriptive statistics and inferential statistical analyses indicated that students meeting the criteria for being well were likely to have higher resilience scores. Protective factors such as self-efficacy, active coping, and spirituality suggest higher resilience during COVID-19-related stressful events. Physiological factors such as self-reported medical conditions and lack of sleep were associated with poorer mental well-being. These findings provide a profile of nursing students' coping and adaptation to a community-spread pandemic. From these findings, nursing schools could manage students' well-being by providing needed resources in their current and future work health support programmes.