Abstract: Objective To investigate the current situation of the professional benefit sense of intensive care unit （ICU） nurses in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, and to explore its influencing factors, so as to provide reference materials for improving the professional benefit sense of ICU nurses. Methods Using the convenient sampling method, the general data and professional benefit sense of ICU nurses in three general hospitals in Xi'an were investigated from December 2020 to March 2021. The influencing factors of professional benefit sense of ICU nurses were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Results Among 246 ICU nurses, 23 were males, accounting for 9.35%; 223 were females, accounting for 90.65%. In the context of COVID-19 epidemic, the total average nurse perceived professional benefits scale （NPPBS） score of ICU nurses was （114.26±7.51） points, the average score of items was （3.94 ± 0.26） scores. The highest score was in the “self-growth” （4.03 ± 0.33）, and the lowest score was in the “good nurse-patient relationship” （3.89 ± 0.35）. Among ICU nurses with different educational background, marital status, age, working hours in ICU, position title, number of night shifts per month, nurse level, clinical teaching, scientific research participation, position, whether worked on the front line of anti-epidemic, whether experienced public health emergencies in the past and whether feared about contracting COVID-19, there was a statistically significant difference in the NPPBS scores of professional benefit sense （all P<0.01）. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that no clinical teaching （β'=-0.065）, not in the front line of anti-epidemic （β'=-0.053）, had not experienced public health emergencies （β'=-0.074） and did not fear of contracting COVID-19 （β'= 0.108） were the main factors influencing the professional benefit sense of ICU nurses in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusion In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, the professional benefit sense of ICU nurses is at a moderate level. It is suggested to focus on the above main influencing factors and carry out reasonable intervention to improve the professional benefit sense of ICU nurses.

Key words: COVID-19, Nursing staff, Professional benefit sense, Status survey, Influencing factor