Study: Research needed on minority nurse well-being during COVID

A study concludes that future studies on nurse well-being during the pandemic should “analyze groups of health care workers separately, clearly identify racial and ethnic groups and examine the role of respondents’ work setting.” Published last week in Nursing Outlook, the authors conducted a scoping review of the literature addressing well-being of racial and ethnic minority nurses in the U.S. during COVID-19. Of the seven studies meeting the inclusion criteria, the review found few significant differences between racial and ethnic groups ─ an unexpected finding given the disproportionate physical, mental and emotional impact of the pandemic on communities of color, including nurses. The authors discuss several gaps in the evidence and urge additional research to understand better the pandemic’s differential impact on underrepresented minority nurses to inform policies to retain a diverse nursing workforce. (Nursing Outlook study, 11/16/22)