THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL FATIGUE AND PERCEIVED STRESS LEVEL AMONG NURSES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY FROM TURKEY

Objective: The coronavirus disease (COVID 19) is a significant problem that affects occupational fatigue and stress level of nurses working at the forefront of the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between occupational fatigue and perceived stress level among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1441 nurses between May 23 and June 7, 2020 using online questionnaire in Turkey. Results: Nurses' occupational fatigue scale scores were moderate to high in chronic and acute fatigue sub-dimensions and moderate to low in the recovery sub-dimension. Furthermore, the average stress level perceived by nurses was reported to be high in this study. Conclusion: It is extremely important for long working hours to be addressed so that nurses can recover and cope with stress during this ongoing pandemic.