Analyzing risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder among emergency-room nurses and development of a prediction model

Abstract

Background

Emergency nurses, working in high-pressure and stressful environments, often face sudden traumatic events such as critical patient resuscitation and accident scene management. Prolonged exposure to these stressors can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Identifying and analyzing the associated risk factors and developing an effective predictive model can provide a scientific basis for early intervention and psychological support, thereby improving the psychological resilience and work efficiency of emergency nurses.

Objective

We analyzed the risk factors for PTSD among emergency-room nurses and developed a prediction model.

Methods

A cohort comprising 89 nurses from the emergency departments were enrolled in this study. The incidence of PTSD was documented among these nurses. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out on the influencing factors of PTSD among nurses, and a prediction model was developed and verified.

Results

Among the cohort of 89 emergency-room nurses, 22 nurses, constituting 24.92%, experienced PTSD, while 67 nurses, accounting for 75.28%, did not exhibit PTSD symptoms. Univariate analysis indicated that there were no notable differences in gender, age, education, years of work experience, introverted personality traits, family history of mental disorders, history of childhood trauma, monthly income, and prior mental health conditions (P > 0.05). However, significant differences were observed in negative coping styles, low resilience, social support levels, and frequent shifts between the two groups (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that negative coping, frequent shifts, limited social support, and low resilience were risk factors for PTSD among emergency-room nurses (P < 0.05). The negative coping mechanism exhibited the highest score of 100, while frequent shifts and a history of mental disorders scored 52 each. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for both the modeling set and the internal validation set were 0.951 and 0.962, respectively.

Conclusions

Considerations of factors such as negative coping, social support level, frequent shifts, and resilience are crucial for managing PTSD incidence among emergency-room nurses after trauma.