Work stress and perceived organisational support on young Korean nurses' care for COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, frontline nurses have faced tremendous stress. Younger nurses in their early-to-mid careers can be more exposed to burnout and work stress, and per-ceived organisational support can influence the quality of nursing care for vulnerable patients.Aim: To identify the impact of younger nurses' work stress and perceived organisational support on their willingness to care for COVID-19 patients.Methods: The cross-sectional secondary data analysis included 211 hospital nurses ( < 35 years) in South Korea with a mean age of 24.60 years ( SD = 1.90). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors influencing willingness to care.Findings: Supplying personal protective equipment, training in the use of personal protective equipment, lower work stress, and positive perceptions of organisational support significantly increased early-career nurses' willingness to care. For mid-career nurses, being male and higher work stress significantly in-creased their willingness to care.Discussion: Support, including COVID-19-related education or training, should be provided to reduce work stress arising from being exposed to infection or while providing care to critically ill patients, especially among early-career nurses. Support from nurse managers, senior staff, and colleagues could help younger nurses cope better with the challenges of COVID-19, thus increasing their willingness to care.Conclusion: Perceived organisational support may facilitate early-career nurses' organisational commit-ment. Healthy work environments can relieve early-to-mid-career nurses' work stress, thus facilitating patient-centred care.(c) 2022 Australian College of Nursing Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd.