Title : Anxiety and Depression among Emergency and Trauma Nurses in Selangor hospitals: Prevalence and Associated Factors

Dealing with unpredictable events, medical care for acutely ill and traumatic patients, violence, acute life-threatening conditions, sudden death and overcrowding caused occupational hazards for the nurses worked in emergency department (ED) and this job stress is linked to higher rates of depression. The study aimed to determine the level of anxiety and depression among emergency nurses at government hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study involved 167 emergency nurses worked in five government’s hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. A total of 167 participants completed the questionnaire. Almost half of the nurses (45%) aged between 21 to 25 years old. Most of them (87.4%) were females and 73% of them experienced working less than 5 years. Majority of the emergency nurses experienced low level of anxiety (91%) while 71.3% of them in a normal level of depression. This study reported that the level of anxiety and depression were more significance among female nurses (r = 0.17, p-value =0.03). There was negative relationship between level of depression with age (r = -0.18, p-value =0.02) and years of services (r = -0.19, p-value =0.02). Prevalence of anxiety and depression among the ED nurses in this study was low and significantly among the female nurses. Depression were more significant among the younger nurses with work experiences less than 5 years. Strategies for managing occupational stress seem to be required in order to support the future ED nurses in order to ensure that quality patient outcomes are achieved