N 595 FOCUSED SCHOLARLY PROJECT FSP CONTRACT

N 595 FOCUSED SCHOLARLY PROJECT FSP CONTRACT

Project Identification and Objectives

Title of Project: Nurse Burnout: Strategies / Interventions to Reduce Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Type of Project: Education module.

Rationale for Project

Nurses comprise the hugest percentage of the healthcare workforce in an epidemic, and they carry out many of the responsibilities regarding infectious disease containment. They are considered the backbone of healthcare and usually must cope with profound burnout levels (Ross, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the nurse burnout situation, with most nurses reporting high levels of physical and emotional fatigue ((Shanafelt et al., 2020).

The prolonged exposure of nurses to stress related to the pandemic crisis has a possibility of causing insidious long‐term health effects such as an increased risk of physical and mental disorders, impaired cognitive function, and reduced productivity and absenteeism at work (Ross, 2020). According to Callus et al. (2020), higher levels of distress were reported by healthcare workers during the SARS pandemic, such as burnout, psychological stress, post-traumatic stress, hostility, and somatization.

Nurses have endured compassion fatigue when handling traumatic events and patients affected by the COVID-19. Therefore, they must be provided with adequate support programs to meet their emotional needs and well-being (Fessell & Cherniss, 2020). Stress‐management interventions for nurses may be a useful approach in reducing burnout caused by emotional fatigue. According to a study in China by Que et al. (2020), insidious psychological problems were observed among health providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and the widespread psychological problems among health providers during the COVID-19 pandemic was 46.04, 44.37, 28.75, and 56.59%, respectively.

According to Chen et al. (2020), strategies such as staff training on the psychological aspect of patient care and relaxation techniques can help reduce stress.  Furthermore, positive mental health can reduce work-related stress and burnout and should be fostered among healthcare workers in COVID-19 ((Shanafelt et al., 2020).Strategies suggested for decreasing the workload include mindfulness and promoting self-care. Mindfulness training is commended for nurses because it can foster self-care and well-being (Fessell & Cherniss, 2020). Besides, mindfulness programs are praised since they improve resilience to stress, quality of professional life, and self-compassion.

Project Objectives

  1. Conduct a literature search to identify strategies or interventions that have been useful in reducing stress and emotional burnout during a pandemic.
  2. Develop a psychological support program based on the literature search strategies to facilitate psychological well-being and self-care among nurses.
  3. Working as frontline healthcare workers in the COVID-19 pandemic, Nurses will be enrolled in the psychological support program and educated on strategies to reduce stress and psychological burnout when caring for patients.
  4. Apply the Behavioral Learning Theory using the systematic desensitization technique to teach nurses relaxation techniques to reduce fear and anxiety.
  5. Evaluate the psychological support program’s impact in enhancing nurses’ knowledge and attitude on stress reduction strategies during the pandemic.

Section I

  • Background and problem identification
  • Purpose of the project
  • Significance of the project to nursing practice
  • Discussion of the conceptual model

Section II

  • Method used for literature search
  • Literature Review
  • Matrix

Section III

  • Project’s implication for nursing practice, future research, and education.
  • Design the psychological support program.
  • Barriers to Implementation

Section IV:

  • Abstract
  • Final document

STUDENT: ____LaQuinta Legania_________________________DATE: __02/05/2021

(Electronic signature acceptable)

FACULTY: _________________________________________________ DATE: _____________

References

  • Callus, E., Bassola, B., Fiolo, V., Bertoldo, E. G., Pagliuca, S., & Lusignani, M. (2020). Stress Reduction Techniques for Health Care Providers Dealing with Severe Coronavirus Infections (SARS, MERS, and COVID-19): A Rapid Review. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 3325. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.589698
  • Fessell, D., & Cherniss, C. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and beyond: micro-practices for burnout prevention and emotional wellness. Journal of the American college of radiology, 17(6), 746-748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2020.03.013
  • Que, J., Le Shi, J. D., Liu, J., Zhang, L., Wu, S., Gong, Y., … & Lu, L. (2020). Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study in China. General psychiatry, 33(3). https://doi.org/110.1136/gpsych-2020-100259
  • Shanafelt, T., Ripp, J., and Trockel, M. (2020). Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA 323, 2133–2134. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.5893
  •   Ross, J. (2020). The Exacerbation of Burnout During COVID-19: A Major Concern for Nurse Safety. Journal of Peri-Anesthesia Nursing, 35(4), 439-440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2020.04.001