Volume 31, Issue 4 pp. 985-1001
Original Article

The effect of the COVID-19 social distancing measures on Turkish women's mental well-being and burnout levels: A cross-sectional study

Kader Tekkas Kerman RN, PhD

Corresponding Author

Kader Tekkas Kerman RN, PhD

Asst. Prof

Koç University School of Nursing, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence:Kader Tekkas Kerman, Koc University School of Nursing, Maltepe Mh. Davutpasa Cd. No: 4 34010, Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, Turkey. Email: [email protected]

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Selvinaz Albayrak RN, PhD

Selvinaz Albayrak RN, PhD

Asst. Prof

Faculty of Health Sciences, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

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Gulcihan Arkan RN, PhD

Gulcihan Arkan RN, PhD

Asst. Prof

Faculty of Health Sciences, Izmir Demokrasi University, Izmir, Turkey

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Serena Ozabrahamyan RN, BSN

Serena Ozabrahamyan RN, BSN

Student

Koç University School of Nursing, Istanbul, Turkey

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Ayse Beser RN, PhD

Ayse Beser RN, PhD

Prof

Koç University School of Nursing, Istanbul, Turkey

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First published: 24 April 2022
Citations: 1
Authorship statement:All authors listed meet the authorship criteria according to the latest guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and all authors are in agreement with the manuscript.
Disclosure:No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.

ABSTRACT

Lockdown and social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic increase women's responsibilities and influence their mental health. This study aimed to assess the effect of COVID-19 social distancing measures on mental well-being and burnout levels of women using an online cross-sectional survey in Turkey. The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, The Burnout Measure, and Sociodemographic form were used in this study. All analyses were performed on a sample of 438 women aged between 18 and 65. The mean score of mental well-being was 47.86 (SD = 10.04) and the mean score of burnout was 3.86 (SD = 1.16). Being younger than 30 years old (t = 2.14, P = 0.033), having undergraduate education or above (F = 5.09, P = 0.007), part-time working (F = 5.39, P = 0.005), attending to school (t = 2.68, P = 0.008), having COVID-19 symptoms (t = 6.01, P < 0.001), and perceiving spousal emotional support (F = 3.47, P = 0.016) were the factors associated with high burnout. Being older than 30 years old (z = −3.11, P = 0.002), full time working (H = 11.96, P = 0.003), not attending to school (z = −2.09, P = 0.036), perceiving spousal emotional (H = 13.22, P = 0.004), or social (H = 13.11, P = 0.004) support were the factors associated with higher mental well-being. Age (β = −0.03, P = 0.001), having two or more children (β = 0.42, P = 0.015), and perceiving COVID-19 symptoms (β = −0.73, P < 0.001) were the predictors of women’s burnout. This study shows that mental well-being and burnout levels of women in Turkey have been considerably affected as a result of social distancing measures taken with the first wave of the pandemic. Findings signal the immediate need for targeted mental health nursing interventions. Therefore, technology-based mental health support programmes are recommended to be designed and utilized by mental health nurses.

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