TY - JOUR
T1 - The prevalence of fatigue among Chinese nursing students in post-COVID-19 era
AU - Liu, Shou
AU - Xi, Hai Tao
AU - Zhu, Qian Qian
AU - Ji, Mengmeng
AU - Zhang, Hongyan
AU - Yang, Bing Xiang
AU - Bai, Wei
AU - Cai, Hong
AU - Zhao, Yan Jie
AU - Chen, Li
AU - Ge, Zong Mei
AU - Wang, Zhiwen
AU - Han, Lin
AU - Chen, Pan
AU - Liu, Shuo
AU - Cheung, Teris
AU - Hall, Brian J.
AU - An, Feng Rong
AU - Xiang, Yu Tao
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project for investigational new drug (2018ZX09201-014), the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (No. Z181100001518005), the 2020 Higher Education Teaching Achievement Cultivation Project of Gansu Province, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2020YJ065), the University of Macau (MYRG2019-00066-FHS) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81860606). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Funding Information:
The following grant information was disclosed by the authors: National Science and Technology: 2018ZX09201-014. Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission: Z181100001518005. Central Universities: 2020YJ065. University of Macau: MYRG2019-00066-FHS. National Natural Science Foundation of China: 81860606.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 PeerJ Inc.. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/4/13
Y1 - 2021/4/13
N2 - Background: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all teaching activities in nursing schools were suspended in China, and many nursing students were summoned to work in hospitals to compensate for the shortage of manpower. This study examined the prevalence of fatigue and its association with quality of life (QOL) among nursing students during the post-COVID-19 era in China. Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study. Nursing students in five Chinese universities were invited to participate. Fatigue, depressive and anxiety symptoms, pain and QOL were measured using standardized instruments. Results: A total of 1,070 nursing students participated. The prevalence of fatigue was 67.3% (95% CI [64.4–70.0]). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender (P = 0.003, OR = 1.73, 95% CI [1.20–2.49]), and being a senior nursing student (second year: OR = 2.20, 95% CI [1.46–3.33], P < 0.001; third year: OR = 3.53, 95% CI [2.31–5.41], P < 0.001; and fourth year OR = 3.59, 95% CI [2.39–5.40], P < 0.001) were significantly associated with more severe fatigue. In addition, moderate economic loss during the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 1.48, 95% CI [1.08–3.33], P < 0.015; compared to low loss), participants with more severe depressive (OR = 1.48, 95% CI [1.22–1.78], P < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.12, 95% CI [1.05–1.20], P = 0.001), and more severe pain (OR = 1.67, 95%CI [1.46–1.91], P < 0.001) were significantly associated with reported more severe fatigue. After controlling for covariates, nursing students with fatigue had a lower overall QOL score compared to those without (F(1, 1070) = 31.4, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Fatigue was common among nursing students in the post-COVID-19 era. Considering the negative impact of fatigue on QOL and daily functioning, routine physical and mental health screening should be conducted for nursing students. Effective stress-reduction measures should be enforced to assist this subpopulation to combat fatigue and restore optimal health.
AB - Background: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all teaching activities in nursing schools were suspended in China, and many nursing students were summoned to work in hospitals to compensate for the shortage of manpower. This study examined the prevalence of fatigue and its association with quality of life (QOL) among nursing students during the post-COVID-19 era in China. Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study. Nursing students in five Chinese universities were invited to participate. Fatigue, depressive and anxiety symptoms, pain and QOL were measured using standardized instruments. Results: A total of 1,070 nursing students participated. The prevalence of fatigue was 67.3% (95% CI [64.4–70.0]). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender (P = 0.003, OR = 1.73, 95% CI [1.20–2.49]), and being a senior nursing student (second year: OR = 2.20, 95% CI [1.46–3.33], P < 0.001; third year: OR = 3.53, 95% CI [2.31–5.41], P < 0.001; and fourth year OR = 3.59, 95% CI [2.39–5.40], P < 0.001) were significantly associated with more severe fatigue. In addition, moderate economic loss during the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 1.48, 95% CI [1.08–3.33], P < 0.015; compared to low loss), participants with more severe depressive (OR = 1.48, 95% CI [1.22–1.78], P < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.12, 95% CI [1.05–1.20], P = 0.001), and more severe pain (OR = 1.67, 95%CI [1.46–1.91], P < 0.001) were significantly associated with reported more severe fatigue. After controlling for covariates, nursing students with fatigue had a lower overall QOL score compared to those without (F(1, 1070) = 31.4, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Fatigue was common among nursing students in the post-COVID-19 era. Considering the negative impact of fatigue on QOL and daily functioning, routine physical and mental health screening should be conducted for nursing students. Effective stress-reduction measures should be enforced to assist this subpopulation to combat fatigue and restore optimal health.
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - Fatigue
KW - Nursing students
KW - Quality of life
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104336387&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.7717/peerj.11154
DO - 10.7717/peerj.11154
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85104336387
SN - 2167-8359
VL - 9
JO - PeerJ
JF - PeerJ
M1 - e11154
ER -
