Younger Nurses Are More Likely to Feel Negative Effects From the COVID-19 Pandemic, New Survey Says

Problems are 'only going to worsen if we don’t address the chronic, underlying work environment issues,' says the executive director of the American Nurses Foundation.

Younger nurses are struggling more with mental health challenges than their older counterparts as the  United States enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study from the American Nurses Foundation says.

The study, which surveyed nearly 12,000 nurses nationwide between January 8-29, 2022, also indicates that some of the stress is caused by an increase in workplace violence.

Findings include:

• Nearly half of nurses surveyed under age 35 said they have sought professional mental health support since March 2020.
• Of the survey respondents under age 25, 69% say they have suffered from burnout—more than double than those older than 25 (30%).
• Nurses under age 25 (47%) and nurses between 25- 34 (46%) consider themselves as being not or not at all emotionally healthy compared to nurses over the age of 55 (19%) and were more likely to have experienced an extremely traumatic, disturbing, or stressful event due to COVID-19.
• Two-thirds of nurses surveyed said they have experienced increased bullying at work while one-third report increased incidents of physical violence at work.

"Mental health challenges endured by nurses is a serious ongoing dilemma that will have long-term impacts on the profession as this younger generation of nurses have been hit the hardest, as noted in the survey," said Wilhelmina M. Manzano, MA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Board of Trustees president of the foundation, which is the charitable and philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association (ANA).

"As we think about the future of nursing, this is particularly disturbing because nurses are our most valuable resource in healthcare, remaining a constant force in the recovery efforts to end this relentless pandemic by administering COVID-19 vaccines, educating communities, and providing safe and quality patient care to millions," she said.

Some 89% of respondents say their organization is experiencing a staffing shortage, with more than half (53%) saying it is a serious problem.

Younger nurses are leaving their current positions and roles in increasing numbers. Nurses ages 25-34 and 35-44 were more likely to change positions than nurses over age 55, the survey says.

Similarly, 60% of nurses under age 25 and 57% of nurses 25-34 do not believe their organization cares about their well-being and generally feel unsupported, according to the research.

"As we enter the third year of this incessant pandemic, the survey findings are even more alarming than what we found in the survey done last year," said Kate Judge, the foundation's executive director. "It’s extremely disheartening that we are still seeing and hearing about the same issues nurses have been burdened with since the start of the pandemic in 2020."

"Nurses are still struggling with mental health issues, feeling unsupported, and suffering from severe burnout and post-traumatic stress because of their sustained response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Judge said. "The nurse staffing shortage has had a domino effect on the profession and it’s only going to worsen if we don’t address the chronic, underlying work environment issues."

The key to closing the door on the COVID-19 pandemic is a sustained, robust nursing workforce operating at peak health and wellness, Manzano said.

"We need to ensure nurses are consistently and completely protected and supported," she said. "There is too much on the line."