Mental well-being and self-care practice of nursing students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study with mixed methods approach

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has created widespread fear, distress, and despair, and has resulted in lockdowns and school closures in Thailand, affecting nursing education. The purpose of this study was to examine nursing students’ mental well-being and self-care practices throughout the pandemic and to identify the relationship between mental well-being and self-care practices.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 250 nursing students from a public nursing school in Thailand was conducted from July to August 2020. A set of questionnaires, including demographics, a Thai General Health Questionnaire, a Self-Care Practices Questionnaire, and focus group interviews were employed for data collection.
RESULTS: The findings reported that 26% of nursing students had mental distress. Most students (73%) reported a good level of self-care by applying precaution techniques: distancing, mask-wearing, hand washing, temperature checking, and ThaiChana (D-M-H-T-T). In addition, the results revealed a significant, negative correlation between mental distress and self-care practices (r=−0.216, p<0.01).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These results emphasize the significance of self-care themes in boosting students’ mental health. Academic institutions must focus on mental health awareness campaigns and implement early intervention programs to successfully assist students in these challenging situations.