Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses’ psychological well being in an emergency room

OBJECTIVES: to assess the level of anxiety of nurses in an emergency room in view of the new Coronavirus and describe the relationship between the degrees of anxiety and their sociodemographic variables. METHODS: quantitative descriptive-correlational study with a sample of 60 nurses. A questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument based on the Hamilton Anxiety Assessment Scale. RESULTS: the nurses’ average anxiety is mild. A statistically significant relationship was found between anxiety and the variables “sex” and “children”, with women having higher levels of anxiety than men, and nurses who do not have children showing mild, moderate, or severe anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 triggers anxiety in nurses, sometimes at pathological levels. Being female and not having children increase the anxiety experienced. Sex can be considered the determining factor for the level of anxiety experienced.