Gan QW, Yu R, Lian ZR, Yuan YL, Li YP, Zheng LL. Relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms in Chinese emergency department nurses: A cross-sectional study. World J Psychiatry 2023; 13(12): 1087-1095 [PMID: 38186729 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i12.1087]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Li-Lan Zheng, MNurs, Chief Nurse, Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. 2737424497@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Qing-Wen Gan, Ran Yu, Yi-Ling Yuan, Yuan-Ping Li, School of Nursing, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Qing-Wen Gan, Ran Yu, Li-Lan Zheng, Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China
Ze-Rong Lian, Department of Nursing, Heping Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi 046000, Shanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Gan QW conceived, researched, analyzed, and wrote this manuscript; Yu R was responsible for conceptualization, research design, and data protection; Lian ZR provided methodological guidance and data analysis; Zheng LL revised the manuscript and oversaw quality control; Yuan YL and Li YP conducted the investigations and data collection.
Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University (Ethics number: IIT2023196).
Informed consent statement: The study was conducted in strict compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and all subjects who participated in the study were informed of the study and agreed to complete the questionnaire.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The data for this study can be provided with the consent of the first author and corresponding author.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Lan Zheng, MNurs, Chief Nurse, Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 17 Yongwaizheng Street, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China. 2737424497@qq.com
Received: July 30, 2023 Peer-review started: July 30, 2023 First decision: October 9, 2023 Revised: October 14, 2023 Accepted: November 9, 2023 Article in press: November 9, 2023 Published online: December 19, 2023 Processing time: 141 Days and 20.7 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Emergency department nurses are at high risk for nightmare distress and depressive symptoms. Understanding the relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms and adopting appropriate interventions can alleviate nightmare distress and depressive symptoms among emergency department nurses. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the correlation between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms among emergency department nurses through a cross-sectional survey.
Research motivation
Mental health issues are increasingly pronounced among emergency department nurses. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms among emergency department nurses and to suggest effective interventions to improve their mental health.
Research objectives
This study investigated emergency department nurses in several provinces in China to explore the relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms in this population.
Research methods
In this study, 280 emergency department nurses in nine provinces were selected using a convenience sampling method. They completed the Chinese version of the Nightmare Distress Questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. SPSS 25.0 statistical software was used to analyze the collected data.
Research results
The results of this study showed that more severe nightmare distress among emergency department nurses was associated with more pronounced depressive symptoms and that the severity of nightmare distress in this population was influenced by factors such as education level, work stress, and self-reported health.
Research conclusions
The severity of nightmare distress in emergency department nurses is positively correlated with depressive symptoms. Nightmare distress can cause serious psychological problems, and early interventions for this population can alleviate depressive symptoms. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing effective interventions.
Research perspectives
This study investigated emergency department nurses in only China; future studies could include those in multiple countries to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms among emergency department nurses and to promote mental health in this profession.
