Prevalence of psychological and mental health symptoms among nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Americas: Systematic review and meta-analysis

To assess the prevalence of mental health symptoms in nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic on the American continent. A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that estimated the prevalence of mental health symptoms in nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic was performed through bibliographic database searches. A three-level meta-analysis model was used with the inverse variance method, tau was estimated via restricted maximum likelihood and logistic transformation, and heterogeneity was presented as tau(2) and I-2. Of the 7467 studies obtained, 62 were included in the meta-analysis, which involved 52 270 nursing professionals. The overall prevalence for at least one mental health symptom was 56.3% (50.4%, 62.1%; I-2 = 98.6%, p < 0.001). Eight mental health symptoms were found; among them, the most prevalent were burnout (52.1%, 37.1%, 88.8%; I-2 = 98.5%, p < 0.001) and fear (52.1%, 30.1%, 73.3%; I-2 = 98.1%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of mental health symptoms in nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic on the American continent was high, and strategies should be developed and implemented by managers and government agencies to promote the well-being, physical and mental health of nursing professionals. Studies like this one are necessary to highlight the need for efforts in the implementation of promotion and prevention actions to be developed by health organisations, managers and leaders with a view to improving the quality of life of nursing workers.