The mental health of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Beneficial effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction

Abstract

Background

Following the COVID-19 global emergency, health students were faced with increased workloads, university closures, study interruptions, loss of peer support networks, and the challenges of volunteer work in hospitals. These factors caused health students to experience significant stress and anxiety, highlighting the necessity of psychological interventions for this group. Several studies have reported that a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) protocol offers valuable coping skills for traumatic events. This study aimed to investigate the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on stress, anxiety, and depression among nursing students at Qom University of Medical Sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

This experimental study was conducted on 72 nursing students from the nursing faculty of Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2020. The sampling was conducted using stratified sampling, and the allocation method employed was simple randomization. MBSR intervention based on social networks was implemented for the experimental group. The Stress-Anxiety-Depression Assessment Questionnaire (DASS-21) was completed by both groups before the study commenced, immediately after, and 2 months post-intervention. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 using t-test, chi-square, and repeated measures analysis.

Results

Analysis of variance with repeated measures showed that in the experimental group, the effect of time on the average score of stress, anxiety, and depression is significant (p < 0.001). The t-test showed significant differences between the two groups in terms of stress, anxiety, and depression scores immediately after the intervention (p < 0.001) and in the follow-up phase (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

MBSR based on social networks is effective and applicable in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is suggested that MBSR should be included in the curriculum of nursing students so that they can have the necessary mental preparation to face acute critical conditions such as COVID-19.