SynthesisJournal of global health2021
Decline in the mental health of nurses across the globe during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
117 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 224 citations in OpenAlex.
- The prevalence of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Post-COVID-19 depression prevalence in Iranian nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2025Pooled it
- Identification and classification of risk factors for mental health problems in healthcare workers using a systemic framework: an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: Call to action for post-COVID-19 at the global level.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Estimation of the prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A meta-analysis of meta-analyses.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The prevalence of probable mental health disorders among hospital healthcare workers during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of affective disorders · 2023Pooled it
- COVID-19 and common mental health symptoms in the early phase of the pandemic: An umbrella review of the evidence.PLoS medicine · 2023Pooled it
- The Association between Resilience and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of hospital staff: An umbrella review of 44 meta-analyses.International journal of nursing studies · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 pandemic-related mortality, infection, symptoms, complications, comorbidities, and other aspects of physical health among healthcare workers globally: An umbrella review.International journal of nursing studies · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety in Nurses during the First Eleven Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of anxiety, depressive and insomnia symptoms among the different groups of people during COVID-19 pandemic: An overview of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- The Burden of Burnout among Healthcare Professionals of Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- COVID-19 Pandemic and Overall Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals Globally: A Meta-Review of Systematic Reviews.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Effects and Mechanisms of a Web- and Mobile-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Nurses: Fully Decentralized Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- Changes in nurses' quality of work life prior to and during COVID: A repeated cross-sectional analysis.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Phase-specific networks of job stress, anxiety and insomnia during acute crisis and chronic strain: A citywide study of public health nurses in Shanghai.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- COVID-19 Infection and Professional Commitment Among Clinical Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study of Work Stress and Social Support in Eastern Taiwan.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Understanding the Second Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic From a Nursing Perspective: A Multi-Country Descriptive Study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNurses represent the major proportion of frontline health care professionals delivering 24/7 services to patients with an increased vulnerability towards COVID-19 infection. Mental health issues among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic are poorly reported across the globe. Henceforth, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to explore the prevalence and determinants of mental health outcomes (anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD, insomnia) among nurses across the globe due to the COVID-19.
methodsA PRISMA compliant systematic review (PROSPERO-CRD 42020204120) was carried out to identify articles from multiple databases reporting the prevalence of mental health outcomes among nurses. Proportion random effect analysis,
resultsPooled data on mental health outcomes were generated from 25 cross-sectional studies: 32% anxiety (95% confidence interval (CI) = 21%-44%, n (number of studies) = 21, N (sample size) = 13 641), 40.6% stress (95% CI = 25.4%-56.8%, n = 10, N = 4204), 32% depression (95% CI = 21%-44%, n = 17, N = 12 294), 18.6% PTSD (95% CI = 4.8%-38%, n = 3, N = 638), 38.3% insomnia (95% CI = 5.8%-78.6%, n = 2, N = 261) and significant risk factors for mental ailments includes; caring for COVID-19 patients, being a female, low self-efficacy, resilience, social support and having physical symptoms (sore-throat, breathlessness, cough, lethargy, myalgia, fever).
conclusionThe study results highlighted a higher proportion of poor mental health outcomes namely, anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD and insomnia among nurses from different parts of the world. Poor mental health outcomes among nurses warrants the need to implement proactive psychological interventions to deter the collapse of health care systems in responding to the pandemic and in particular all possible efforts should be undertaken to mitigate the risk factors. Health care organizations should provide support to nurses with sufficient flexibility. The disaster preparedness plan envisaged by nations should have provisions to address the mental health of nurses. Greater investment in addressing the global shortage of nurses should be given priority in national health policies. Attractive salary packages should be offered to nurses to prevent their emigration from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42020204120).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.