Investigating the Effects of Psychological Capital on Evidence-based Clinical Practice of Nurses in Dealing With COVID-19 Patients: The Mediating Role of Psychological Security

Objectives: Given the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse effects on social psychological health, especially nurses, psychological empowerment of nurses can increase their psychological security and improve their clinical performance during critical situations. This study aims to investigate the relationship between nurses’ psychology capital and their clinical performance, with a focus on the intermediary role of psychological security while facing COVID-19 patients. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study. A total of 100 nurses (from 114 nurses) employed in the COVID-19 section of Amir-Al-Momenin Hospital in Arak City, Iran, were selected via the convenience sampling method. The data collection was done using three questionnaires: Luthan’s psychological capital questionnaire, perceived psychological questionnaire, and evidence-based questionnaire. To analyze the data and confirm the fitness of the tools, we used the confirmatory factor analysis with partial least square via the Smart PLS3 software Results: The findings indicated significant relationships based on the theoretical model among the studied variables. The standard β for the relationship between psychological capital and clinical performance decreased from 0.684 to 0.507 which given its statistical significance shows the insignificant intermediary role of psychological security. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that nurses who benefit from higher psychological capital are more aware of their psychological capabilities. The positive effects of this awareness lead to better performance in challenging and critical situations.