Mental Health and Resilience among Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Nurses exposed to COVID-19 could be psychologically stressed. The present study investigated the mental health and the resilience level in the nurses’ population. Method: This cross-sectional study was performed on 432 nurses in 27 hospitals working in Guilan province, north of Iran, between April 29, to May 14, 2020. Mental health and resilience were measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Hierarchical multiple linear regression model was used to identify factors associated with mental health. Results: The mean GHQ-12 and CD-RISC-10 scores were 15.72 (SD, 5.67) and 25.97 (SD, 6.88), respectively. Probable psychological distress (GHQ-12 score ≥ 15) was present in 57.2% of nurses. Among demographic and COVID-19-related variables, only educational level was significantly and negatively correlated with mental health. After controlling the variables, hierarchical regression analyses results showed that lower resilience was associated with poor mental health (β = -0.49; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Regarding the nurses’ mental health, appropriate psychological/psychiatric intervention is necessary, and resilience can play a role as a mental health promoter.