Nurses' Perceptions of Emotional Abuse and Affecting Factors in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study was conducted cross-sectionally to determine nurses' perceptions of emotional abuse and affecting factors during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Material and Methods: The research was conducted cross-sectionally with 342 nurses between May 1, 2021-July 1, 2021. Data were collected using the ''descriptive characteristics information form'' and the ''Perceived Emotional Abuse Scale''. Percentage, arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used as descriptive analysis, and t-test, analysis of variance and correlation analysis were used for comparative analysis. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 67% of the nurses were female, 82.2% were undergraduates. It was determined that 51.8% of the nurses had COVID-19 and 61.7% were emotionally affected by the pandemic. The average age of the nurses was 29.70±6.99 (minimum: 19, maximum: 56), and the total scale score was 252.07±46.98. The total Perceived Emotional Abuse Scale scores of the nurses who were emotionally affected, felt angry during the pandemic, had COVID-19, perceived a sense of inclusion in their team, thought they were successful in their working lives and loved their profession were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was found that nurses' perceptions of emotional abuse were high during the COVID-19 pandemic. This may be due to nurses being ostracized and stigmatized by their environment. If psychological effects such as burnout and emotional abuse cannot be prevented, interruptions in health services may occur. In order to control this situation, institutions should provide accurate information about the pandemic, take protective measures, provide psychological counseling, improve working conditions and be supported by the institution.