HEALTH STATUS AND RISK FACTORS IN NURSES WORKING IN HOSPITAL WARDS WITH MILITARY PERSONNEL

Abstract

Introduction. Nurses have a large share of work to ensure the provision of quality medical services to patients. The nurses at the hospitals, which during the war perform the functions of medical facilities for the treatment of wounded or sick soldiers, bear a particularly heavy load. Large volumes of work often lead to both physical and psycho-emotional exhaustion, the consequence of which is the exacerbation of chronic diseases, manifestations of professional burnout syndrome, and the development of signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic stress creates conditions for the development of hypercortisolemia and related metabolic disorders.

The aim of the study – to assess the morbidity and temporary disability of inpatient nurses who work with the military, to establish their cortisol level and its relationship with cardiometabolic factors.

The main part. 137 nurses of departments providing medical assistance to the patients, who are wounded military personnel and civilians who were temporarily disabled in 2023, took part in the study. Nurses were surveyed, blood levels of morning cortisol, glucose, lipid metabolism were measured, as well as the blood pressure. 61.3% of the nurses who worked in the wards with military personnel and 38.7% in the wards with civilian population had records of temporary disability. The most frequent causes of temporary disability were acute respiratory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, diseases of the circulatory system, diseases of the endocrine system, nutritional disorders and metabolic disorders, infectious diseases. The level of cortisol in the nurses of surgical departments was (489.45±145.61) mmol/l, therapeutic department – (357.41±130.52) mmol/l, intensive care department – (586.79±128.32) mmol/l. The level of cortisol was characterized by a negative correlation with the age of nurses (r=-0.426; p=0.043), work experience (r=-0.312; p=0.062), HDL cholesterol (r=-0.379; p=0.050) and direct correlations with the number of night shifts (r=0.458; р=0.039), blood glucose level (r=0.438; р=0.035), systolic blood pressure (r=0.501; р=0.021).

Conclusions. Among nurses who worked in hospital departments with military personnel, there was a higher incidence of temporary disability compared to nurses who worked with the civilian population. Socio-demographic and cardiometabolic factors are characterized by relationships with the level of cortisol in the blood of nurses and have a direct impact on their state of health.