Effect of a group-based acceptance and commitment therapy programme on the mental health of clinical nurses during the COVID-19 sporadic outbreak period

Aim: To develop and implement of a group-based acceptance and commitment therapy programme in helping clinical nurses with mental health problems during the sporadic COVID-19 outbreak period.

Background: In the face of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, clinical nurses have a high risk of mental health issues.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used. Two hundred twenty-six nurses were recruited from four general hospitals to receive 10 sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy programme. The Symptom Checklist-90, Perceived Stress Scale and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to assess nurses' mental health symptom, perceived stress and psychological resilience at pre-intervention and 4-week post-intervention.

Results: The mean attendance sessions was 5.78. The Symptom Checklist-90 score was significantly lower at post-intervention than pre-intervention (P < 0.01), and there were no significant changes of perceived stress and psychological resilience. There were significant correlations among the changed rates of mental health, perceived stress and psychological resilience (P < 0.01).

Conclusion: The acceptance and commitment therapy programme was effective in relieving mental health symptoms for clinical nurses and could protect clinical nurses' perceived stress and psychological resilience. However, a randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm the findings.

Implication for nursing management: To facilitate clinical nurses' psychological health in crisis situation, nursing management team should provide and allocated appropriate resources to support the healthcare providers.