Factors that related with anxiety and cognitive flexibility levels in nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic: A mixed method study

This study is a mixed method study conducted to determine the relationship between anxiety and cognitive flexibility levels of nurses and to examine the factors associated with their anxiety levels during the Covid-19 pandemic. The participant group in the research consists of 295 nurses working during the pandemic in 2020-2021. Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure the anxiety levels of the nurses, The Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI) was used to measure the cognitive flexibility levels, The Sociodemographic Information Form for the domographic information and the semi-structured interview form to reach the qualitative data about the emotions, thoughts and bahaviours of the nurses. The scales were applied to 295 participants and the qualitative part was studied with 12 participants. Quantitative data were analyzed with statistic program in social sciences and qualitative data were analyzed with content analysis technique. In the results obtained from the quantitative findings of the study a negative relationship was observed between anxiety and cognitive flexibility level. The anxiety level of nurses did not differ according to whether they had Covid-19 or not unit they worked in and similarly, the level of anxiety and cognitive flexibility did not differ according to the seniority too. In the results obtained from the qualitative findings of the research it was seen that the nurses had an irrational mindset and that they felt unpleasent / negative emotions along with anxiety and reflected it on their behavior intensely in Covid-19 pandemic process. In this study the uncertainty of the process, the death of relatives and colleagues, the lethality of the virus, the increase in the number of cases, the news received from the media, the situations arising from working conditions and the possibility of transmitting the disease to their families were determined as the factors affecting the level of anxiety in nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic. Key words: Covid-19 pandemic, anxiety, cognitive flexibility, emotion, thought, behavior.