Participants and Data Collection

Our test subjects came from 15 infectious-disease-specialized hospitals or infectious disease departments of general hospitals in China. We used the following formula to calculate the minimum sample size: N = (Z_{α /2})²P(1-P)/δ², where, according to the results of our trial test, the rate of occupational stress among nurses in the infectious disease departments was P = 0.7; the tolerable error, δ, is 0.03, the allowable probability of a Type-I error is α = 0.05; and the critical value for our Z-statistics is Z_{α /2} = 1.96, so N = 896. However, due to an expectation that 10% of responses will be invalid, our minimum sample size must actually be 986.

With the help of hospital managers, 1,578 nurses in infectious disease departments who met our inclusion criteria were surveyed from January to July in 2021 through convenient sampling. Our inclusion criteria were: nurses who had worked in an infectious disease department for more than 1 year and agreed to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria were nurses-in-training and those absent on leave. Before the survey, we told the subjects the purpose and significance of the study and also assured them of anonymity and confidentiality, and our investigation took place only after we received written informed consent from the nurses. The time limit for filling out the questionnaire was 20 to 30 min, and after the nurses completed the questionnaires, research proctors withdrew them immediately. To ensure the validity of the questionnaire, the proctors confirmed in advance the completion and validity of the questionnaire with the nurses who submitted them. In addition, during the whole process of filling out the questionnaire, the research proctors maintained a certain distance from the nurses in order to avoid any possible influence from their physical presence.