Examining the associations between self-care practices and psychological distress among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Brouwer, K.R.; Walmsley, L.A.; Parrish, E.M.; McCubbin, A.K.; Braido, C.E.C.; Okoli, C.T.C.

There is limited research regarding the impact of self-care practices on psychological distress, specifically on nursing students during a pandemic, such as COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease- 2019). A 10-min electronic survey was sent to nursing students at a large academic-medical center, and data from 285 student respondents were analyzed to assess psychological status, attitudes and behaviors in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant differences were found when comparing self-care practice scores by school grade for total scores (F = 4.48 [df = 4250], p = .002), emotional subscale (F = 4.78 [df = 4250], p = .001), and relationship subscale (F = 3.44 [df = 4250], p = .009). While there were no significant differences in psychological distress by school grade, graduate students had the lowest self-care practice score compared to all the other grades. Finally, the subscale and total self-care practice scores were significantly and negatively associated with psychological distress. These findings suggest that utilization of self-care practices is associated with lower psychological distress, and should therefore be promoted among nursing student populations and integrated into curricula. Future studies should assess specific needs geared towards populations that may have poor self-care practices, such as graduate students, and understand ways to improve sleep quality to mitigate rates of psychological distress during a pandemic.