The effects of an emergency nurse-led stress-reduction project during the first 120 days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan

Background: The COVID-19 frontline nurses' stress-reduction programme by the cooperation of manager with the nurses is not-well developed.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of an emergency nurse-led stress-reduction project on reducing stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The action research was conducted using online and person-to-person group brainstorming strategies. The online survey was used to evaluate emergency nurses' stress levels, causes of stress and needs at the 50th, 80th and 110th days of the pandemic from March to May 2020.

Results: The numbers of nurses participating in three-time survey were 160, 166 and 160, respectively. There was a decrease in the nurses' work-related stress after implementing the improvement strategies. Stress from personal protective equipment (PPE), information about infection control and family's worry about being infected reduced across 2 months. Needs regarding PPE, COVID-19 information and a forum for sharing experiences of COVID-19 care decreased whereas needs of allowing more days off increased.

Conclusions: The stress-reduction project targeting at nurses' views of their needs can reduce their stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implications for nursing management: The online and person-to-person group brainstorming building a good partnership between nurses and managers can be an effective nursing management.