Commentary: Male nurses’ mental health and provision of emotional support during COVID-19: a thematic analysis

This paper examined the male nurses’ mental health and emotional support provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were two reasons that this study caught my interest. First, the research topic addressed the lacunae in the literature about male nurses’ experiences during the pandemic – specifically, their mental health and emotional support provision. Second, I am a male nurse who can relate to the studied phenomenon. In this investigation, the authors used a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to tease out the most relevant and overarching themes. Their participants were diverse male nurses from three countries (United States, Canada and Kenya). This study afforded four themes: the context of COVID-19 work changes, pandemic-related mental health challenges, providing emotional support and personal coping strategies. Although the authors attempted to explore gender differences, participants positioned their experiences in the context of the pandemic rather than a gender-based phenomenon.

Admittedly, I had a fair share of first-hand experiences with discrimination and the stigma of being a male nurse. My fellow female nurses expect me to do all the heavy tasks (e.g. lifting and transporting patients or carrying heavy equipment). Some patients and their watchers will verbalise that my voice is too loud, refuse nursing care (e.g. female catheterisation, bathing female patients), or even complain that my hands are heavy every time I hold their hands. Maybe these are little nuances, but the fact that patients will compare my nursing skills performance to my female colleagues made it more significant that care perception is gender-based.

Nursing is a predominantly female profession. Worldwide, male nurses account for 10% of the entire nursing population (Buchan et al., 2022). Nursing became appealing to male nurses because nursing offers men decent pay, career security, growth opportunities and family assistance (Saleh et al., 2020). Men had a technical edge in intensive care units and operating rooms and had more physical vigour than women nurses (Nerges et al., 2022).

As a gendered profession, male nurses must adapt feminine traits to characterise the nursing profession. Consequently, male nurses had trouble getting along with female nurses, felt isolated and had different expectations than female nurses. Male nurses have also experienced workplace gender discrimination due to differences in work content, work atmosphere or job opportunities. Social expectations and prejudices towards male nurses can produce undesirable effects (Chang and Jeong, 2021). However, they continue to be an essential resource for healthcare, specifically nursing.

Undeniably, there is a gender difference in mental health. Males and females vary greatly in expressing, dealing and coping with mental health issues. However, in this study, male nurses did not experience difficulty in expressing their emotions and providing emotional support to their clients, colleagues and students. The participants shared the use of alcohol during the pandemic as a means of coping. There were global reports that alcohol consumption during the pandemic increased despite the alcohol ban and closed bars during the pandemic lockdown. Increased alcohol consumption is a person’s response to high-stress situations and post-traumatic events (Calina et al., 2021). Unquestionably, COVID-19 has impacted individuals and communities worldwide, laying the groundwork for long-term physical and mental health issues and raising the possibility of heavy alcohol use even after the crisis is resolved. It could have been significant to investigate the gender difference in alcohol consumption during the pandemic.

Most participants were ‘breadwinners’ of their families. This family role is causing tremendous fear and anxiety, affecting their mental health. This finding is not unusual. During the pandemic, individuals with duties and responsibilities experience increased fear and anxiety. Exploring the male nurses’ characterisation of being breadwinners during the ongoing pandemic could be a rich addition to the existing COVID-19 literature.

The authors recommended that nursing organisations be vigilant about the mental health issues of both male and female nurses. This is a highly relevant recommendation. However, nursing organisations and their managers should be well-trained in recognising mental-health issues. There should be programmes and resources that will aid nurses when they experience these issues. Thus, longitudinal studies or programme evaluations of nurses’ mental health programmes during COVID-19 are necessary to ascertain the long-term pandemic effects.

Whether in clinical nursing or academia, gender diversity imbalance can adversely influence organisational outcomes. In clinical settings, this imbalance negatively impacts healthcare quality. Additionally, the imbalance can result in increased expenses, poor health outcomes and unsatisfactory nursing care experiences. Gender diversity increases patient care quality, promotes culturally appropriate care and boosts provider satisfaction. Therefore, I recommend the following to level the field between female and male nurses. First, recognise specific instances and accounts of caring male nurses. Avoid perpetuating the misconception that male nurses are more concerned with technology than their patients’ personal experiences. Second, embrace that male nurses can experience strong emotional reactions when dealing with challenging patient circumstances and react appropriately. Third, validate male nurses’ capacity to deal with emotionally intense circumstances.

The vital role that male nurses play in defying prevailing gender stereotypes and fostering social acceptance of men in the nursing profession will be strengthened by recognising the cultural, spiritual and economic contributions that male nurses offer. Notwithstanding everything, nurses should be kind and caring to all people. Ultimately, nurses caring and compassion should transcend regardless of individuals’ gender, race and culture.

Biography

Daniel Joseph E. Berdida is a University of Santo Tomas College of Nursing faculty member and a former paediatric nurse at the Philippine General Hospital. His research interests are the intersections between nursing education (nursing students) and nursing practice (nurses). He is the current Counsellor of the Sigma-Alpha Alpha Theta Chapter.