The association between fear of COVID‐19 and mental health: The mediating roles of burnout and job stress among emergency nursing staff

AIM: This current study examined the mediation roles of burnout and job stress in the association between fear of COVID‐19 and mental health among emergency nurses. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional survey. METHODS: A total of 516 emergency nurses with a mean age of 41.18 (SD = 8.24), mostly females (76.16%) and married (78.9%) responded to measures on fear of COVID‐19, burnout, job stress and mental health between 15 September and 7 November 2020. RESULTS: There was a significantly direct effect between (a) fear of COVID‐19 and mental health, (b) fear of COVID‐19 and mediators (burnout and job stress) and (c) mediators (burnout and job stress) and mental health. Also, there was a significantly indirect effect between fear of COVID‐19 and mental health through job stress, burnout or both. CONCLUSIONS: Fear of COVID‐19 directly and indirectly influenced the mental health of emergency nurses. Therefore, hospital authorities should provide sufficient resources to allay the fears of nurses during this COVID‐19 pandemic period.