The Impact of COVID-19 on Nurses’ Perceptions of the Healthcare Work Environment

Abstract

Introduction: Healthcare workers, including nurses, play a crucial role in responding to the pandemic and are on the frontline of exposure to infection. Historically, professional nurses bring compassionate, competent care to the pandemic response but are challenged to provide care when their work puts them at increased risk. Aim: The current study assessed the nurses’ work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A quantitative design was utilized. A sample of 144 nurses from a specialized cancer center and a university hospital in Jordan was recruited. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Healthy Work Environment Assessment (HWE) Tool was used in this study.

Results: Sixty-six percent of the participants worked in the cancer center, and 63.9% worked in inpatient units. Most participants (76.4%) did not attend infection control courses. Nurses scored effective decision-making as the highest standard (mean = 2.48, SD = 0.9) across all HWE subscales. Nurses working in the cancer center ranked their work environment in all HWE subscales higher than the work environment in the teaching hospital.

Conclusion: The results of this study were utilized to identify areas for improvement regarding the nurses’ work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.