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Nursing Reports
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Mental Health and Well-Being of Nursing Students: Challenges, Interventions, and...
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Mental Health and Well-Being of Nursing Students: Challenges, Interventions, and Future Directions

A special issue of Nursing Reports (ISSN 2039-4403). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health Nursing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 1453

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lorena Gutiérrez-Puertas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: addiction smartphone; clinical setting; nursing; mental health
Dr. Montserrat Monserrat Hernández

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Social and Cultural Anthropology Lab, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: compusive behaviors; social media; eating disorders; mental well-being

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The mental health of nursing students is a global issue of growing concern that must be addressed in depth. The challenges faced by nursing students during their academic and clinical training can interfere with their mental health. In addition, the use of smartphones and social networks can favor the development of addictive behaviors and interfere with their self-image, their social relationships with their peers and preceptors, their therapeutic relationships with patients, and teamwork, negatively affecting their educational process and their mental health as a result.

This Special Issue focuses on the need to better understand the factors that affect the mental health of nursing students, the impact these can have on the development of behaviors that are detrimental to their health, and strategies for effectively dealing with these new challenges. The articles in this Issue will explore stress, burnout, resilience, the manifestation of addictive behaviors, and coping with stressful situations. We will consider studies focusing on the role of educational and healthcare institutions in promoting mental wellness and implementing evidence-based interventions to prevent and address mental health issues among nursing students. The aim is to enhance the mental health, academic performance, and clinical competence of nursing students. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Topics:

Academic stress in nursing students;

Mental health promotion;

Addiction to smartphones and mental well-being;

Social networks and self-image in nursing students;

Burnout during academic and clinical training;

Resilience in the face of academic and clinical challenges;

Relationship between digital habits and sleep quality;

Eating and mental health;

Strategies to prevent addictive behaviors;

Emotional education in nursing programs;

Interventions to strengthen mental health;

Coping and perceived stress.

Dr. Lorena Gutiérrez-Puertas
Dr. Montserrat Monserrat Hernández
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nursing Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nursing students
  • resilience
  • mental health promotion
  • smartphone addiction
  • patient care
  • education and health policies
  • compulsive behaviors
  • eating disorders

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 569 KB  
Article
Concealing, Connecting, and Confronting: A Reflexive Inquiry into Mental Health and Wellbeing Among Undergraduate Nursing Students
by Animesh Ghimire
Nurs. Rep. 2025, 15(9), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15090312 - 25 Aug 2025
Viewed by 253
Abstract
Background: Undergraduate nursing students (UNSs) often enter clinical training just as they are still mastering the emotional labor of the profession. In Nepal, where teaching hierarchies discourage upward dialogue and hospitals routinely struggle with overcrowding, supply shortages, and outward nurse migration, these [...] Read more.
Background: Undergraduate nursing students (UNSs) often enter clinical training just as they are still mastering the emotional labor of the profession. In Nepal, where teaching hierarchies discourage upward dialogue and hospitals routinely struggle with overcrowding, supply shortages, and outward nurse migration, these learners confront a distinct, under-documented burden of psychological distress. Objective: This study examines how UNSs interpret, negotiate, and cope with the mental health challenges that arise at the intersection of cultural deference, resource scarcity, and migration-fueled uncertainty. Methods: A qualitative design employing reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), guided by the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG), was used. Fifteen second-, third-, and fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at a major urban tertiary institution in Nepal were purposively recruited via on-campus digital flyers and brief in-class announcements that directed students (by QR code) to a secure sign-up form. Participants then completed semi-structured interviews; audio files were transcribed verbatim and iteratively analyzed through an inductive, reflexive coding process to ensure methodological rigor. Results: Four themes portray a continuum from silenced struggle to systemic constraint. First, Shrouded Voices, Quiet Connections captures how students confide only in trusted peers, fearing that formal disclosure could be perceived as weakness or incompetence. Second, Performing Resilience: Masking Authentic Struggles describes the institutional narratives of “strong nurses” that drive students to suppress anxiety, adopting scripted positivity to satisfy assessment expectations. Third, Power, Hierarchy, and the Weight of Tradition reveals that strict authority gradients inhibit questions in classrooms and clinical placements, leaving stress unvoiced and unaddressed. Finally, Overshadowed by Systemic Realities shows how chronic understaffing, equipment shortages, and patient poverty compel students to prioritize patients’ hardships, normalizing self-neglect. Conclusions: Psychological distress among Nepalese UNSs is not an individual failing but a product of structural silence and resource poverty. Educators and policymakers must move beyond resilience-only rhetoric toward concrete reforms that dismantle punitive hierarchies, create confidential support avenues, and embed collaborative pedagogy. Institutional accountability—through regulated workloads, faculty-endorsed wellbeing forums, and systematic mentoring—can shift mental health care from a private struggle to a shared professional responsibility. Multi-site studies across low- and middle-income countries are now essential for testing such system-level interventions and building a globally resilient, compassionate nursing workforce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health and Well-Being of Nursing Students: Challenges, Interventions, and Future Directions)
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17 pages, 962 KB  
Article
Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health in Nursing Students and Non-Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Verena Dresen, Liliane Sigmund, Siegmund Staggl, Bernhard Holzner, Gerhard Rumpold, Laura R. Fischer-Jbali, Markus Canazei and Elisabeth Weiss
Nurs. Rep. 2025, 15(8), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15080286 - 6 Aug 2025
Viewed by 657
Abstract
Background/Objective: Nursing and non-nursing students experience high stress levels, making them susceptible to mental health issues. This study compared stress, anxiety, and depression between these two groups after 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it explored the relationship between perceived helplessness, [...] Read more.
Background/Objective: Nursing and non-nursing students experience high stress levels, making them susceptible to mental health issues. This study compared stress, anxiety, and depression between these two groups after 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, it explored the relationship between perceived helplessness, self-efficacy, and symptoms of mental stress and strain resulting from challenging internship conditions for nursing students. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 154 nursing students (mean age = 22.43 years) and 291 non-nursing students (mean age = 27.7 years). Data were collected using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), and a questionnaire on mental stress and strain. Results: Nursing students reported significantly higher scores in the DASS-21 subscales depression (ηp2 = 0.016) and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.037), and global stress (PSS-10; ηp2 = 0.029) compared to non-nursing students, but no significant difference on the DASS-21 Stress subscale. The observed group differences in the present study may be partially attributed to group differences in demographic factors. Helplessness correlated strongly with nearly all scales of mental stress and strain during internships (all p’s < 0.001), while self-efficacy showed a strong negative correlation with non-occupational difficulties, health impairment, and emotional problems (all p’s < 0.001). Conclusions: Nursing students experience elevated depression, anxiety, and perceived stress levels compared to non-nursing students. Stronger feelings of helplessness and lower confidence in their ability to overcome challenges were strongly correlated with mental stress and strain during clinical training. Targeted interventions such as cognitive behavioral training and stress management should be integrated into nursing curricula to enhance resilience and coping strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mental Health and Well-Being of Nursing Students: Challenges, Interventions, and Future Directions)
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