Association between occupational stress and mental health of nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional research

AIM: This study is aimed to explore the association between the occupational stress and mental health among Chinese nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional study. METHODS: There were 2913 nurse participants enrolled in the study. Demographic characteristics and other data were measured by a self‐reported questionnaire. Occupational stress was measured by using the effort–reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire. Mental health was measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 and the General Anxiety Disorder‐7. RESULTS: Among the participants, 14.32% (417) experienced ERI; 8.1% (237) and 7.2% (210) reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Compared with a reference group at the lowest quartile of the ERI, participants in the highest quartile had an adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) of 11.17 (4.42, 28.25) for incident depressive symptoms. For anxiety symptoms, the OR and 95% CI was 2.28 (1.21, 4.29). The ERI was shown to have a detrimental effect on mental health, especially depressive symptoms.