Coping strategies and associated factors in a sample of Iranian nurses: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate coping strategies and associated factors among clinical nurses in Iran in 2023. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Hospitals in Kashan, Iran. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 400 nurses were selected through stratified random sampling from different hospital departments. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Coping strategies were measured via the Potential Factors Related to Coping Strategies Questionnaire, the Work-Family Conflict Scale and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Coping strategies were quantified with scores ranging from 0 to 198. Associations with potential influencing factors were assessed. RESULTS: The coping strategies score was 94.22±25.49 (95% CLM 91.72 to 96.72). Notably, 83.5% of the variation in coping strategy scores could be attributed to emotion-focused coping. The simultaneous inclusion of work-family conflict and spouse participation in household affairs was found to be significant (F=9.85, p<0.0001). Work-family conflict was positively associated (B=0.82, 95% CI 0.38 to 1.26), whereas spouse participation was negatively associated (B=-8.43, 95% CI -16.22 to -0.64). Together, these variables accounted for 6.4% of the variance in coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses in Kashan hospitals used moderate levels of coping strategies, which were mainly emotion-focused. It is recommended that hospitals provide guidance on these strategies, especially during pandemic crises.