Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Dec 19, 2023; 13(12): 1087-1095
Published online Dec 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i12.1087
Relationship between nightmare distress and depressive symptoms in Chinese emergency department nurses: A cross-sectional study
Qing-Wen Gan, Ran Yu, Ze-Rong Lian, Yi-Ling Yuan, Yuan-Ping Li, Li-Lan Zheng
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
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.