Depressive Symptoms among Psychiatric Nurses in a Hospital: An Analytical Research

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric nurses are vulnerable to the menace of negative emotions due to the nature of their work and the closed environment in which they work. In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence and influencing factors of depression among psychiatric nurses.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey method was adopted to investigate 64 nurses working in the psychiatric department of a hospital from June 2022 to June 2023. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaire was administered to all included respondents, who were divided into depressed group (>4 points) and non-depressed group (≤4 points) according to the BDI scores. General sociological and disease-related characteristics of these two groups were measured, and items with significant differences were analyzed by logistic regression to derive factors that have an impact on the occurrence of depression among psychiatric nurses.

Results: Twelve psychiatric nurses in the surveyed hospital exhibited signs of depressive symptoms, with a rate of 18.75%. The univariate analysis unveiled differences between the depressed group and the non-depressed group in terms of daily sleep time, weekly working hours, professional title, working pressure, physical exercise, length of service, and physical condition. Further analysis through logistic regression revealed that daily sleep time, weekly working hours, and physical condition were factors affecting the occurrence of depression among psychiatric nurses.

Conclusion: The vulnerability of psychiatric nurses to depression, which are potentially influenced by daily sleep hours, weekly working hours, and physical condition, deserves clinical attention so that countermeasures can be developed for early intervention.