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Bakhtiari Z, Ramezani-Badr F, Amini K. Coping Strategies and Mental Health Symptoms in Emergency Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health in Emergencies and Disasters Quarterly 2026; 11 (4) :351-362
URL: http://hdq.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-718-fa.html

Background: Appropriate coping strategies employed by emergency nurses during a pandemic can help reduce their psychiatric issues and positively impact the quality of patient care. This study aimed to determine the relationship between different coping strategies of emergency nurses and their mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study included 125 emergency nurses in three teaching hospitals in Iran. Participants were selected using stratified random sampling. Data collection tools included a questionnaire on nurses’ demographic and occupational characteristics, the perceived stress scale, the Hamilton anxiety rating scale, the Hamilton depression rating scale, and the ways of coping questionnaire. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05.
Results: In this study, 97.5%, 66.4%, and 60.8% of the nurses experienced mild-to-severe stress, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Nurses primarily used emotion-oriented strategies to manage their mental health symptoms. A statistically significant relationship existed between mental health symptoms and certain coping strategies (P<0.05). Increased stress, anxiety, and depression led nurses to adopt certain negative coping strategies, especially escape-avoidance, in addition to adopting positive coping strategies.
Conclusion: Preventive interventions are crucial for emergency nurses, particularly during natural disasters, to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression by promoting effective coping strategies and mitigating negative ones, given the prevalence of mental health symptoms.