Nurses often experience work-related physical and mental fatigue. This study sought to identify the levels of physical and mental fatigue present among Korean female nurses and discern factors influencing their onset. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the Korea Nurses’ Health Study (KNHS). A total of 14,839 hospital nurses were assessed by hierarchical regression analysis. The mean scores of physical and mental fatigue were 12.57 and 5.79 points, respectively. After adjusting for confounding variables, the work department had a significant influence on both physical and mental fatigue, that is, nurses working in special care units experienced greater degrees of both physical and mental fatigue than those working in general units. Nurse fatigue is an important consideration to monitor to ensure nurses’ continued wellbeing as well as good patient safety levels. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a strategy to mitigate nursing fatigue while considering the characteristics of specific departments. In nursing practice, the introduction of a counseling program and guarantee of rest time that can alleviate the mental and physical fatigue of nurses working in special care units should be considered.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting subjective cognitive impairment. We analyzed data from the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey and enrolled 68,546 middle-aged adults, aged 50 to 64 years, and 74,547 older adults, aged 65 years and older, in this study. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors influencing subjective cognitive impairment. Of the participants, 11,926 (17.4%) middle-aged and 21,880 (29.4%) older adults living in the community reported subjective cognitive impairment. Major factors that influenced subjective cognitive impairment in both middle-aged and older adults were gender, subjective stress, depressive symptoms, and alcohol drinking. In contrast to middle-aged adults, the marital status of older adults affected subjective cognitive impairment. Therefore, the factors affecting subjective cognitive impairment in middle-aged and older adults need to be considered for screening and management to prevent cognitive impairment and dementia. In particular, it is necessary to evaluate and manage stress and depressive symptoms from middle age to prevent subjective cognitive impairment.

The use of menstrual hygiene products and its effect on women’s health remains under studied. Patterns of menstrual hygiene product use and the rationale behind choices among Korean women aged 18–45 years were examined. This cross-sectional study was a part of the Korea Nurses’ Health Study. A total of 20,613 nurses participated, and 8,658 nurses participated in Module 7 which included a menstrual hygiene products-related survey. The data were collected through the mobile survey using a self-reported questionnaire. Participants’ use of menstrual hygiene products and related characteristics were analyzed using frequency (percentage) or mean (SD). The most common types of menstrual hygiene products across all age groups were disposable menstrual pads (89.0%), followed by cloth menstrual pads (4.5%), tampons (4.2%), and only 1.6% used a menstrual cup. Disposable menstrual pads were the most common across all age groups, but in those aged under 30 years this was followed by tampon use (6%). The most important criteria when choosing a menstrual hygiene product was comfort for disposable menstrual pads (31.3%) and tampons (41.5%), natural ingredients or organic products for cloth menstrual pads (51.4%), and custom fit for the menstrual cup (50.7%). However, for all menstrual hygiene products (except cloth menstrual pads), there was a higher proportion of anxiety than perception of safety, and low awareness of toxic shock syndrome. It is important for women to use menstrual hygiene products with confidence. More research is needed to better understand potential health effects of menstrual hygiene products.

Aim: To identify the factors affecting fear, anxiety and depressive symptoms among frontline nurses working with COVID‐19 patients or are in charge of COVID‐19 screening in Korea.Background: Nurses are at a higher risk of COVID‐19 infection because they are in closer, longer‐duration contact with patients. These situations can negatively affect the mental health of nurses.Methods: This study analysed data from COVID‐19 module in the Korean Nurses’ Health Study. Data from 906 participants were analysed. To identify the factors influencing mental health, descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed.Results: Caring for patients who are COVID‐19‐positive increased levels of fear, anxiety and depressive symptoms of nurses. The hospital safety climate influenced mental well‐being among nurses.Conclusion: Caring for patients with COVID‐19 had a negative impact on fear, anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, the higher was the perceived hospital safety climate, the lower were the nurses’ psychological symptoms. Further research on the mental health of nurses is warranted.Implications for nursing and health policy: Institutions should manage human resources to enable periodic rotation of nurses’ work and working periods related to COVID‐19. In addition, hospital managers should provide sufficient personal protective equipment, related education, and safety climate.

Background: Burnout among nurses is a worldwide public health epidemic that adversely affects nurses’ quality of life as well as the patient’s outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of stress on nurses’ burnout and to identify the mediating effects of secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction among clinical nurses in South Korea. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional study evaluated the survey data from 10,305 female registered hospital nurses who participated in the Korea Nurses’ Health Study (KNHS) Module 5. The survey included a demographic questionnaire and the Professional Quality of Life version 5 (ProQOL 5). Bootstrap analyses (using the PROCESS macro) were employed to evaluate the mediating effect between variables. Results: Stress was significantly associated with burnout and mediated by secondary traumatic stress and compassion satisfaction (β_{indirect 1} = 0.185, Bootstrap confidence interval (BS CI) [0.175, 0.194]; β_{indirect 2} = 0.226, BS CI [0.212, 0.241], respectively). In addition, the magnitude of the indirect effects of compassion satisfaction was significantly greater than the magnitude of the indirect effects of secondary traumatic stress (β_{indirect 1}-β_{indirect 2} = − 0.042, BS CI [− 0.058, − 0.026]). The findings of this study indicate that the positive aspect (compassion satisfaction) of work experiences can offset the negative aspects (secondary traumatic stress), consequently reducing burnout level. Conclusions: Our study findings suggest that a multidimensional approach to assessing nurse burnout and implementation of proper management will improve quality of life for nurses and help maintain positive attitudes and quality of patient care.