Coping strategies at the frontline of care: Comparisons between Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 units' nurses and the role of moderator variables

Introduction: Relatively few studies focused on the coping strategies adopted by the healthcare workers during the second phase of the pandemic. The present study compared the coping strategies between Italian nurses working in Covid-19 and in other units and it explored whether socio-demographic and work-related variables moderate the relation between the type of unit and coping strategies. Methods: A web-based questionnaire that included sociodemographic and work-related questions and the Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced-New Italian Version-25 item was administered. Moderation effects between variables and coping strategies were analyzed using generalized linear models. Results: 253 nurses participated. Nurses who worked in a Covid-19 unit had significantly lower scores on Avoidance Strategies subscale and higher scores on Positive Attitude and Social Support subscales than nurses working in other units. Discussion: Gender differences emerged only on the social support coping dimension, with women being more likely to adopt social support than men. No association between the type of unit and the other coping strategies was found. Conclusion: Nurses working in Covid-19 units showed better coping strategies than their colleagues: this suggests that support interventions aimed to promote coping strategies should be offered also to Covid-19-free units' nurses.