Associations between personal protective equipment and nursing staff stress during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Hoedl, Manuela; Eglseer, Doris; Bauer, Silvia

AIM: This study gives insights into the association between the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), wearing time of masks and stress among frontline nursing staff during the COVID‐19 pandemic. BACKGROUND: PPE can have physical consequences like headache and pain, which could result in increased nurse stress levels. METHODS: A total of 2600 nurses participated in this online survey. The questionnaire is based on literature and includes the perceived level of stress scale. RESULTS: We found no significant association between the use of PPE and stress. Nurses who wore masks for more than 8 h had significant higher stress levels than those who used the masks for a shorter period. CONCLUSIONS: The duration of wearing masks is associated with nurse's stress level. Our findings can help nurses to argue a higher frequency of breaks and a maximum duration of mask usage in their organisations. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: We recommend that nursing managers implement practical strategies such as a mask break task force. This task force could promote awareness for mask breaks and recommend and allocate rooms or locations such as balconies for mask breaks.