{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T20:30:47Z","timestamp":1771533047421,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]],"date-time":"2025-08-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756598400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses faced enormous emotional challenges and profound physical fatigue, as well as constant concerns about whether they would receive genuine support in the workplace. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of nurses and to identify key challenges, coping strategies and needs for institutional support. Methods: It was conducted in Albania and followed a mixed-methods design in two interconnected phases, using a mixed-methods approach. Phase I included a quantitative survey of 288 nurses from regional hospitals in Fier and Vlora using a structured questionnaire covering five domains: workplace challenges, stress and work\u2013life balance, health effects and burnout, coping mechanisms, and suggestions for improvement. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Phase II consisted of a reflective seminar with 47 nurses selected from the initial sample. Participants shared their post-pandemic experiences, coping strategies, and proposals for improving mental well-being. SWOT analysis was used to structure the reflections and identify internal and external factors influencing nurses\u2019 mental health. Results: The results showed that nurses continue to face high workload, insufficient psychological support, and that 37.5% reported their work\u2013life balance had worsened since the pandemic (21.9% sometimes; 15.6% most of the time). Participation in the reflective seminar had a positive impact on increasing professional awareness. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for structured and sustainable interventions within healthcare institutions to protect and promote nurses\u2019 mental health in post-crisis contexts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina61091573","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]],"date-time":"2025-09-01T08:28:15Z","timestamp":1756715295000},"page":"1573","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Improving the Mental Health of Nursing Staff Seen from the Perspective of Staff a Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"61","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-0748-2692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rudina","family":"\u00c7er\u00e7izaj","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Vlora \u201cIsmail Qemali\u201d, 9401 Vlore, Albania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4793-9384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatjona","family":"Kamberi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Vlora \u201cIsmail Qemali\u201d, 9401 Vlore, Albania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7819-8198","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emirjona","family":"Ki\u00e7aj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vasilika","family":"Prifti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Vlora \u201cIsmail Qemali\u201d, 9401 Vlore, Albania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sonila","family":"Qirko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Vlora \u201cIsmail Qemali\u201d, 9401 Vlore, Albania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8579-0784","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erlini","family":"Kokalla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, University of Vlora \u201cIsmail Qemali\u201d, 9401 Vlore, Albania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9551-9910","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Liliana","family":"Rogozea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Transylvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100424","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eclinm.2020.100424","article-title":"Frontline nurses\u2019 burnout, anxiety, depression, and fear statuses and their associated factors during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China: A large-scale cross-sectional study","volume":"24","author":"Hu","year":"2022","journal-title":"eClinicalMedicine"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3286","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.14839","article-title":"Nurses\u2019 burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"77","author":"Galanis","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. 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