Anxiety and Coping Strategies of Nursing Students during COVID-19 Pandemic in selected Nursing Campuses

Abstract

Anxiety is highly prevalent among nursing students even in normal circumstances. The objective of this study was to assess levels of anxiety and ways of coping among nursing students on the selected campuses.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 215 students of Bachelor level in two nursing campuses from October to December 2020. Anxiety levels were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale. The study found that the prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe anxiety was 45.6%, 25%, and 13% respectively. Age of the participants, Nursing Programme, and type of family were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the level of anxiety however, other socio-demographic factors were not found associatedwith anxiety level. Moderate and Severe level of anxiety was found significantly high among students below the age of 20 years, BSc. Nursing students and joint family respectively. The students’ coping strategies were strictly using personal protective measures (94.9%), doing relaxation activities (81%), chatting with and getting support from family and friends (79.5%), and praying, worshiping, and engage in spiritual work by 42.3%. about one-third (28.4%) get help from doctors to reduce stress and 7% vent emotions by crying and screaming.
The majority of the nursing students had mild anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and majority ofthem used at least one coping strategy for the anxiety.