RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Art therapy (AT) has been widely utilized as a therapeutic approach for clinical nurses. In recent years, more and more researchers have applied art therapy to enhance clinical nurses' mental well-being. However, many studies conducted in this area have suffered from limited sample sizes and insufficient research evidence. AIM: This study aims to conduct a systematic evaluation of the efficacy of art therapy on the mental health of clinical nurses. METHODS: RCTs on art therapy for clinical nurses were searched across databases such as PubMed, Embase, etc., the results were analysed using RevMan 5.3. RESULTS: There were 19 RCTs encompassing 1338 clinical nurses involved in this analysis. The Meta-analysis revealed that art therapy exhibited a significant reduction in anxiety levels (measured by the SAS) among clinical nurses, as well as depression levels and perceived stress levels (measured by the CPSS). Furthermore, art therapy demonstrated a reduction in negative coping style and an improvement in positive coping style. DISCUSSION: Findings indicate that art therapy can reduce anxiety, depression and stress levels in clinical nurses, while also enhance positive coping styles and promote mental well-being. Therefore, the widespread implementation of art therapy in this context is highly recommended. DECLARATION: I hereby declare that my article is directly relevant to the field of mental health nursing. It highlights the critical importance of psychological well-being and supplements the evidence on The effects of art therapy on the occupational mental health of clinical nurses.