A Closer Look: Obsessive-compulsive Symptoms Among Intern Nurses Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Overview

Journal BMC Nurs

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Medical Education

Date 2024 Mar 29

PMID 38549136

Authors

Mona Metwally El-Sayed

Eman Sameh Abd Elhay

Manal Mohammed Hawash

Hassan Mohammed Sonbol

Samah Mohamed Taha

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The distinctive circumstances and socio-cultural context in Egypt make it crucial to explore the psychological well-being of intern nurses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the influence of fear of COVID-19 on obsessive-compulsive symptoms among intern nurses.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 375 randomly recruited intern nurses was conducted. Data collected included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale and the Short Version of the Arabic Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.

Results: A significant relationship was found between the fear of COVID-19 and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms among the participants (r = 0.472, p = 0.000). A stepwise regression analysis indicated that the fear of COVID-19, living in urban regions, frequency of COVID-19 infection, and increased number of infected family members may contribute to the severity of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms with adjusted R2 value = 27.5%.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant psychological impacts on newly qualified nurses during their internship training period, including the manifestation of mental health symptoms such as Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms. It was observed that urban residents, intern nurses with recurrent COVID-19 infections, and those with more infected family members exhibited a higher severity of OCS. These findings underscore the need for further research to investigate additional factors that may influence OCS severity.

Citing Articles

Navigating the fear: assessing nursing students' concerns and preventive practices in response to Monkeypox in Egypt.

Amin S, El Demerdash D, El-Sayed M, Salama T, Elsehrawy M, Atta M BMC Nurs. 2025; 24(1):23.

PMID: 39773708 PMC: 11708079. DOI: 10.1186/s12912-024-02589-2.

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