%0 Journal Article
%@ 2561-326X
%I JMIR Publications
%V 4
%N 9
%P e20606
%T Knowledge and Psychological Stress Related to COVID-19 Among Nursing Staff in a Hospital in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study
%A Huang,Huaping
%A Zhao,Wen-Jun
%A Li,Gui-Rong
%+ Department of Nursing, Mianyang Central Hospital, No.12, Changjia Alley, Jingzhogn Street, Fucheng District, Mianyang, 621000, China, 86 0816 2239671, 384895848@qq.com
%K COVID-19
%K nursing staff
%K knowledge
%K psychological stress
%D 2020
%7 18.9.2020
%9 Original Paper
%J JMIR Form Res
%G English
%X Background: Since December 2019, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading worldwide. Nurses play a key role in fighting this disease and are at risk of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the mental health condition of nurses and establish appropriate interventions to reduce the negative psychiatric outcomes of the pandemic. Objective: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge and psychological stress related to COVID-19 among nursing staff and to provide evidence of the need for targeted training and psychological intervention. Methods: This cross-sectional web-based survey study was performed in a class 3 grade A general hospital in a southwest province of China from March 1 to March 15, 2020. A self-designed questionnaire with questions about COVID-19–related prevention and control knowledge and the Triage Assessment Form (TAF) were used to assess nursing staff’s knowledge of COVID-19 and their degree of psychological stress, respectively. SPSS 23.0 was applied for statistical analysis of the collected data. Results: A total of 979 nurses completed the questionnaire. The results showed that the nursing staff provided the fewest correct answers to questions about continuous viral nucleic acid testing specifications (379/979 correct answers, 38.7%), isolation/discharge criteria (539/979 correct answers, 55.1%), and management measures for patients with suspected symptoms (713/979 correct answers, 72.8%). The median total score of the TAF was 7.0 (IQR 5.0-12.0), and there were statistically significant differences in scores between different nursing roles, years of work experience, and hospital departments (P<.05). Conclusions: This study indicated that nursing staff have insufficient knowledge about COVID-19. Meanwhile, although the psychological damage to nurses during the pandemic was found to be low, nurse managers must continue to monitor the mental health of nursing staff and perform timely interventions. 
%M 32640419
%R 10.2196/20606
%U https://formative.jmir.org/2020/9/e20606
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/20606
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32640419