Nursing profession during the pandemic: Perceptions, changes, and the role of media
Abstract views: 27
/ 
PDF downloads: 11
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26900/hsq.2367Keywords:
COVID-19, Professional Image, NurseAbstract
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically highlighted the critical role of nursing in healthcare, transforming the traditional image of nurses from "sisters" or "white angels" to a more esteemed and academic profession. This study aims to evaluate nurses' perspectives on how the media influences the perception of the nursing profession during the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on their professional image. The study seeks to assess nurses' views on the media's role in shaping public perception of nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for professional identity. A total of 208 nurses employed in a hospital setting between January 2022 – March 2022 participated in this research, with institutional approval. Data were collected using a researcher-designed questionnaire and the Nursing Profession Image Scale. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0, employing descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and Student t-tests, with a significance level set at p<0.05. The average age of the nurses was 35.02±7.80 years, with 81.7% being female. Only 7.3% were affiliated with a professional association. A notable 26.0% believed there were positive shifts in the nursing profession's image during the pandemic, while 80.3% observed increased discourse around nursing due to the pandemic. Moreover, 41.8% felt the media adequately portrayed nurses and their professional challenges. The mean score on the Nurses' Image Scale was 112.00±9.67. According to gender, affiliation with a professional organization, and perceptions of media coverage, the perception of the nursing profession's image has varied. However, no significant correlations were found between age, education, professional experience, and perception of the nursing profession. Nurses' perceptions of their professional image are moderately positive. Efforts to enhance the profession's public perception, particularly through media representation, are deemed imperative.
Downloads
References
Gupta N, Dhamija S, Patil J, Chaudhari B. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers. Ind Psychiatry J. 2021;30(3):282. doi: 10.4103/0972-6748.328830.
Labrague LJ, de los Santos JAA. Fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, work satisfaction and turnover intention among frontline nurses. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29(3):395-403. doi: 10.1111/jonm.13168.
Güngör S, Atik D, Akyol N. Hemşirelerde COVID-19 Aşısının Kabulü ve Hastalığa Yakalanma Korkusu COVID-19 Vaccine. J Med Sci. 2022;3(1):59-71. doi: 10.46629/JMS.2022.65.
Bennett CL, James AH, Kelly D. Beyond tropes: Towards a new image of nursing in the wake of COVID-19. J Clin Nurs. 2020;29(15–16):2753-5. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15346.
Zhang Z, Fu W, Tian C, Zhang F, Zhao B, Mao J, et al. Professional identity of Chinese nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak: A nation-wide cross-sectional study. Nurse Educ Pract. 2021;52. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103040.
van der Cingel M, Brouwer J. What makes a nurse today? A debate on the nursing professional identity and its need for change. Nurs Philos. 2021;22(2):1-7. doi: 10.1111/nup.12343.
Uysal N, Demirdağ H. The image of nursing perceived by the society in the Covid-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Nurs Forum. 2022;57(6):1339-45. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12813.
Bagnasco A, Catania G, Gallagher A, Morley G. Media representations of nurses in the pandemic: Just doing our job? Nurs Ethics. 2020;27(4):901–5. doi: 10.1177/0969733020926352.
Billings J, Ching BCF, Gkofa V, Greene T, Bloomfield M. Experiences of frontline healthcare workers and their views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):1-17. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06917-z.
Ersan Yaman H, Basaran‐Acil S, Duygulu S. The positioning of nursing in Turkish mass media: Before and after the COVID‐19 outbreak. Int Nurs Rev. 2023;(August). doi: 10.1111/inr.12909.
Stadnicka SK, Zarzycka D. Perception of the professional self-image by nurses and midwives. Psychometric adaptation of the Belimage questionnaire. BMC Nurs. 2023;22(1):1-14. doi: 10.1186/s12912-023-01564-7.
Topuz F, Bülbüloğlu S, Filizli Z, Zayin D. Nursing Image From the Perspective of Healthcare Professionals During the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Period: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Radiol Nurs. 2023;42(3):334-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jradnu.2023.02.012.
Yurtsever D, Duran S, Alan H. COVID-19 Salgınında Hemşirelerin Mesleki İmaj Algısı: Bir Kamu Hastanesi Örneği. Med J Istanbul Kanuni Sultan Suleyman. 2022;14(3):280-6. doi: 10.14744/iksstd.2022.98470.
Karadeniz H, Durmuş A, Gündüz CS, Bilgiç G, Gürkan Can Ö. COVID-19 Pandemisinin Hemşirelerin Mesleki İmaj Algısına Etkisi. 2022;11(2):255–61. doi: 10.53424/balikesirsbd.1022453.
Emeghebo L. The image of nursing as perceived by nurses. Nurse Educ Today. 2012;32(6):e49–53. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2011.10.015.
Gönç T. Türkiye’de Hemşirelik Mesleğinin Profesyonelleşmesi Sürecinde Gelişmeler ve Zorluklar: Sosyolojik Bir Değerlendirme. İş, Güç Endüstri İlişkileri ve İnsan Kaynakları Derg. 2015;17:113-46. doi: 10.4026/1303-2860.2015.0301.x.
Weaver R, Ferguson C, Wilbourn M, Salamonson Y. Men in nursing on television: Exposing and reinforcing stereotypes. J Adv Nurs. 2014;70(4):833-42. doi: 10.1111/jan.12244.
Budu HI, Abalo EM, Bam VB, Agyemang DO, Noi S, Budu FA, et al. “I prefer a male nurse to a female nurse”: Patients’ preference for, and satisfaction with nursing care provided by male nurses at the Komfo Anokye teaching hospital. BMC Nurs. 2019;18(1):1-9. doi: 10.1186/s12912-019-0369-4.
Yavaş G, Özerli AN. The public image of nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Int Nurs Rev. 2023;(April 2022). doi: 10.1111/inr.12922.
Dost A, Bahçecik AN. Developing a scale for the ımage of nursing profession. J Acad Res Nurs. 2015;1(19):51-9. doi: 10.5222/jaren.2015.051.
Miller WR, Malloy C, Mravec M, Sposato MF, Groves D. Nursing in the spotlight: Talk about nurses and the nursing profession on Twitter during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Nurs Outlook. 2022;70(4):580-9. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2022.02.009.
Özlük B, Sur H. Evaluation of nursing profession within the scope of professionalazation in Turkey and the process of harmonization to the European Union: A qualitative study. Sağlık ve Hemşirelik Yönetimi Derg. 2017;98-106. doi: 10.5222/SHYD.2017.098.
González H, Errasti-Ibarrondo B, Iraizoz-Iraizoz A, Choperena A. The image of nursing in the media: A scoping review. Int Nurs Rev. 2023;70(3):425-43. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2020.03.009.
Glerean N, Hupli M, Talman K, Haavisto E. Young peoples’ perceptions of the nursing profession: An integrative review. Nurse Educ Today. 2017;57:95-102. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.07.008.
Teresa-Morales C, Rodríguez-Pérez M, Araujo-Hernández M, Feria-Ramírez C. Current stereotypes associated with nursing and nursing professionals: An integrative review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(13). doi: 10.3390/ijerph19137640.
Blau A, Sela Y, Grinberg K. Public perceptions and attitudes on the ımage of nursing in the wake of COVID-19. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(6). doi: 10.3390/ijerph20064717.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Holistence Publications
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
When the article is accepted for publication in the HSQ authors transfer all copyright in the article to the Holistence Academy Ar-Ge Yazılım Yayıncılık Eğitim Danışmanlık ve Organizasyon Ticaret Ltd. Şti.The authors reserve all proprietary right other than copyright, such as patent rights.
Everyone who is listed as an author in this article should have made a substantial, direct, intellectual contribution to the work and should take public responsibility for it.
This paper contains works that have not previously published or not under consideration for publication in other journals.
