Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Work and Life Style of Japanese Nurses

An ad hoc Web survey was conducted from January to May 2022 in the Japan Nurses’ Health Study to determine how the work and daily life of nurses were affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We performed a multivariable modified Poisson regression analysis to examine factors associated with changes in working hours and qualitative content analysis for open-ended responses regarding changes in work status. The participants for analysis in this survey comprised 2,923 women. Among 2,322 nurses who had been working at the start of the pandemic in 2020, 1,225 (52.8%) were experienced in duties related to COVID-19 during 2 years of the pandemic. An adjusted Poisson regression analysis showed that, among 1,424 nurses who were aged <60 years and had been working in 2020, engaging in duties related to COVID-19 was significantly associated with increased working hours compared with that in 2019 (prevalence ratio of increasing work hours: 1.499, 95% confidence interval: 1.367 to 1.644). The results of the qualitative analysis showed that nurses experienced a change in their work status owing to “an increase in infection control” or “reinstatement due to the COVID-19 disaster.” Regarding changes to the participants’ lives, 40% reported that the time for exercise and hobbies was decreased. These findings suggested that engaging in duties related to COVID-19 increased the nurses’ burden.