Coping profiles and their association with vicarious post-traumatic growth among nurses during the three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to examine (a) changes in coping strategies and vicarious post-traumatic growth (VPTG) across three timepoints of the COVID-19 pandemic among nurses; (b) discrete groups of nurses with unique coping profiles and (c) the association of these coping profiles with VPTG across the timepoints. Although literature abounds with the negative mental health consequences of the pandemic among healthcare professionals, much less is known about the positive consequences on nurses, the coping strategies that they use, and how these change over time. This was a cross-sectional web-based survey at three timepoints during the pandemic. A sample of 429 nurses completed online the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (COPE) to measure vicarious post-traumatic growth (VPTG) and coping strategies, respectively. The STROBE checklist was used to report the present study. Significantly higher VPTG scores were observed during the third timepoint. Different coping strategies were employed across the three timepoints. Nurses responded to the pandemic either with an active, an avoidant or a passive coping profile. Significantly higher VPTG levels were reported by the nurses of the active profile compared to those of the passive profile, whereas the difference between active and avoidant profiles was not significant. Notwithstanding the preponderance of the nurses with the active coping profile in achieving high VPTG, the avoidant copers had more gains (VPTG) than the passive copers, suggesting that doing something to cope with the stressor-let it be trying to avoid it-was better than doing nothing. The identification of distinct coping profiles among nurses and their association with VPTG is of particular use to policymakers and practitioners in developing tailored prevention and intervention efforts to help the nurses effectively manage the demands of the pandemic. No patient or public contribution since the study was exclusively conducted by the authors.