Professional Quality of Life among Iranian Clinical Nurses at the Forefront of the Fight against COVID‑19: A Multicenter Cross‑Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: With the prolonged COVID‑19 disease control time, concerns about the caring ability of clinically exposed nurses have increased. This study aimed to investigate Compassion Satisfaction (CS), Burnout (BO), and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) as elements of Professional Quality of Life among nurses in COVID‑19 settings. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive online national survey, 427 clinical nurses who had worked in the COVID‑19 wards from all Iran provinces answered the Persian version of the Professional Quality of Life Scale as the profile tool with three subscales, including CS, BO, and STS. Data were collected using email, Short Message Service (SMS), and social networks from December 2020 to February 2021. Results: The mean (SD) score of CS was 38.86 (9.00), the mean (SD) score of BO was 18.60 (4.08), and STS was 34.74 (7.02). STS was substantially more prevalent among married nurses whose Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests were positive for themselves or at least one family member (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Clinical nurses who respond to the COVID‑19 crisis are at risk of STS and BO. In pandemic situations like COVID‑19, it is necessary to consider supportive interventions to increase satisfaction and reduce burnout and secondary traumatic stress in nurses.