Enter your email address
Submit
Write your message
Volume 10, Issue 1 (Iranian Journal of Ergonomics 2022)
Iran J Ergon 2022, 10(1): 65-73 |
Back to browse issues page
Research code: U-00069
Ethics code: IR.AJUMS.REC.1400.139
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Afshari D, Nourollahi-Darabad M, Karimi N, Seyed Tabib M. Assessment of Mental Workload of Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Iran J Ergon 2022; 10 (1) :65-73
URL: http://journal.iehfs.ir/article-1-895-en.html
URL: http://journal.iehfs.ir/article-1-895-en.html
1- Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
2- Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran ,maryam.nourollahi@gmail.com
3- Occupational Health Engineering, Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
4- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
2- Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran ,
3- Occupational Health Engineering, Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
4- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract: (4799 Views)
Objectives: Nurses are at the front line of treatment and coping with COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study investigates the pandemic’s impact on nurses ’mental workload and determines its predictive factors.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was done on 234 nurses in two groups working at COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards in 2020. The criteria for entering the study were the absence of psychological problems. Data was gathered using the General Health Questionnaire, NASA-TLX, and Demographic Questionnaire.
Results: The mean of the overall mental workload score in the group of nurses working at the Covid-19 wards (70.09 ± 2.51) was higher than the group of nurses working in the non-COVID-19 wards (66.55 ± 2.02). This difference was significant (P = 0.01). There was a significant difference between the mean score of the mental demand, the physical demand, the temporal demand, and the frustration level of the two groups. With the exception of performance, the group of nurses working in the corona ward had a higher mean score in all aspects. In the proposed linear model, 16% of the overall changes in mental workload depended on two variables, which were age and work experience. The work experience was the most influential factor in predicting nurses' mental workload.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed the importance of paying attention to the mental workload of nurses as well as personal and occupational factors affecting mental workload in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, control and management of effective factors can help reduce mental workload, especially during pandemic conditions.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was done on 234 nurses in two groups working at COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards in 2020. The criteria for entering the study were the absence of psychological problems. Data was gathered using the General Health Questionnaire, NASA-TLX, and Demographic Questionnaire.
Results: The mean of the overall mental workload score in the group of nurses working at the Covid-19 wards (70.09 ± 2.51) was higher than the group of nurses working in the non-COVID-19 wards (66.55 ± 2.02). This difference was significant (P = 0.01). There was a significant difference between the mean score of the mental demand, the physical demand, the temporal demand, and the frustration level of the two groups. With the exception of performance, the group of nurses working in the corona ward had a higher mean score in all aspects. In the proposed linear model, 16% of the overall changes in mental workload depended on two variables, which were age and work experience. The work experience was the most influential factor in predicting nurses' mental workload.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed the importance of paying attention to the mental workload of nurses as well as personal and occupational factors affecting mental workload in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, control and management of effective factors can help reduce mental workload, especially during pandemic conditions.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Cognitive Ergonomics
Received: 2022/06/15 | Accepted: 2022/07/1 | ePublished: 2022/07/1
Received: 2022/06/15 | Accepted: 2022/07/1 | ePublished: 2022/07/1
References
1. Liu Q, Luo D, Haase JE, Guo Q, Wang XQ, Liu S, et al. The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study. Lancet Glob Health. 2020;8(6):e790-e798. [DOI] [PubMed]
2. Kotfis K, Roberson SW, Wilson JE, Dabrowski W, Pun BT, Ely EW. COVID-19: ICU delirium management during SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Crit Care. 2020;24(1):1-9. [DOI] [PubMed]
3. Hall RCW, Hall RCW, Chapman MJ. The 1995 Kikwit Ebola outbreak: lessons hospitals and physicians can apply to future viral epidemics. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2008;30(5):446-52. [DOI] [PubMed]
4. Gharebaghi R, Heidary F. COVID-19 and Iran: swimming with hands tied! Swiss Med Wkly. 2020;150:w20242. [DOI] [PubMed]
5. Charles RL, Nixon J. Measuring mental workload using physiological measures: A systematic review. Appl Ergon. 2019;74:221-32. [DOI] [PubMed]
6. Wihardja H, Hariyati TS, Gayatri D. Analysis of factors related to the mental workload of nurses during interaction through nursing care in the intensive care unit. Enfermería Clínica. 2019;29(S2):262-9. [DOI]
7. Gram B, Westgate K, Karstad K, Holtermann A, Søgaard K, Brage S, et al. Occupational and leisure-time physical activity and workload among construction workers–a randomized control study. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2016;22(1):36-44. [DOI] [PubMed]
8. Mélan C, Cascino N. A multidisciplinary approach of workload assessment in real-job situations: Investigation in the field of aerospace activities. Front Psychol. 2014;5:964. [DOI] [PubMed]
9. Wang YX, Guo HT, Du XW, Song W, Lu C, Hao WN. Factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder of nurses exposed to corona virus disease 2019 in China. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020;99(26):e20965. [DOI]
10. Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, Jiao D, Song R, Ma L, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-8. [DOI] [PubMed]
11. Shoja E, Aghamohammadi V, Bazyar H, Rezakhani Moghaddam H, Nasiri K, Dashti M, et al. Covid-19 effects on the workload of Iranian healthcare workers. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1636. [DOI] [PubMed]
12. Montazeri A, Harirchi AM, Shariati M, Garmaroudi G, Ebadi M, Fateh A. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12): translation and validation study of the Iranian version. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2003;1:66. [DOI] [PubMed]
13. Zakerian SA, Abbasinia M, Mohammadian F, Fathi A, Rahmani A, Ahmadnezhad I, et al. The relationship between workload and quality of life among hospital staffs [in Persian]. Iran J Ergon. 2013;1(1):43-56.
14. Darvishi E, Maleki A, Giahi O, Akbarzadeh A. Subjective mental workload and its correlation with musculoskeletal disorders in bank staff. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2016;39(6):420-6. [DOI] [PubMed]
15. Pourteimour S, Yaghmaei S, Babamohamadi H. The relationship between mental workload and job performance among Iranian nurses providing care to COVID‐19 patients: A cross‐sectional study. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29(6):1723-32. [DOI] [PubMed]
16. Lucchini A, Iozzo P, Bambi S. Nursing workload in the COVID-19 era. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2020;61:102929. [DOI] [PubMed]
17. Habibi E, Taheri MR, Hasanzadeh A. Relationship between mental workload and musculoskeletal disorders among Alzahra Hospital nurses. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2015;20(1):1-6. [PubMed]
18. Sönmez B, Oğuz Z, Kutlu L, Yıldırım A. Determination of nurses' mental workloads using subjective methods. J Clin Nurs. 2017;26(3-4):514-23. [DOI] [PubMed]
19. Du M, Hu K. Frontline health care workers’ mental workload during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2021;33(2-3):303-5. [DOI] [PubMed]
20. Mortensen CB, Zachodnik J, Caspersen SF, Geisler A. Healthcare professionals’ experiences during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the intensive care unit: A qualitative study. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2022;68:103130. [DOI] [PubMed]
21. Shan Y, Shang J, Yan Y, Lu G, Hu D, Ye X. Mental workload of frontline nurses aiding in the COVID‐19 pandemic: A latent profile analysis. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(5):2374-85. [DOI] [PubMed]
22. Wu J, Li H, Geng Z, Wang Y, Wang X, Zhang J. Subtypes of nurses’ mental workload and interaction patterns with fatigue and work engagement during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak: A latent class analysis. BMC Nurs. 2021;20:206. [DOI]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
Copyright Policy
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
