Nearly half of Pakistani nurses show depressive sy...

Summary

• The study found that 49 percent of nurses included in the research had depressive symptoms, making mental health a major concern for the nursing profession and the wider healthcare system.
• The researchers examined published evidence on depressive symptoms among registered nurses working in clinical settings across Pakistan.
• The study is the first comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis, according to the authors, to bring together available research on depressive symptoms among nurses in Pakistan and examine differences by region, time and assessment tool.

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Islamabad:  Nearly half of Pakistan’s nursing workforce shows symptoms of depression, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis that examined 22 studies involving 3,190 nurses. The study found that 49 percent of nurses included in the research had depressive symptoms, making mental health a major concern for the nursing profession and the wider healthcare system.

The study, titled “Prevalence of depressive symptoms in the nursing workforce in Pakistan: Systematic review and meta-analytic evidence”, was conducted by Hamideh Ebrahimi, Masoud Mohammadnezhad, Mohammad Hossein Falahat Pishe and Anil Fastenau. The researchers examined published evidence on depressive symptoms among registered nurses working in clinical settings across Pakistan.

The researchers found that the overall pooled prevalence of depressive symptoms was 49 percent, with a 95 percent confidence interval ranging from 39 percent to 58 percent. However, the study also found very large differences between the studies, with statistical heterogeneity reaching 97.15 percent. The researchers said this variation was likely linked to differences in the nurses studied, healthcare settings and, especially, the tools used to measure depressive symptoms.

The results changed significantly depending on the assessment tool. Studies using the PHQ-9 questionnaire reported a prevalence of 38 percent, while those using DASS-21 reported a prevalence of 61 percent. The researchers said this difference shows why using more consistent assessment methods is important when measuring depression among nurses.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the highest prevalence estimates among the provinces included in the research. The study examined regional differences because working conditions, healthcare facilities and other local factors may affect the mental health of nurses.