prevalence of depression among nurses of iran: a meta-analysis

Background: depression is one of the most common and serious disorders which threatens the mental and physical health of the nurses. this article inves-tigated prevalence of depression among the nurses of iran using meta-analysis. methods: this meta-analysis study was done in 2021 using a random-effects model. data were collected from january 2000 to june 21, 2021, from pub-med, web of science, scopus, magiran, sid databases and google scholar search engine. the data were analyzed using cma software (version 2.2.064, the us, biostate company). results: 18 articles were retrieved. the total prevalence rate of depression in iranian nurses was 12 % [95 % ci= 8.03-17.10]. the highest prevalence rate of depression among nurses was 40.90 % [95 % ci= 32.60-49.70] in razavi khorasan, in 2020, and the lowest prevalence rate was 1.70 % [95 % ci= 0.06-4.40] in lorestan, in 2017. a significant statistical correlation was observed between the prevalence of depression, the sample size, and the work experi-ence (p-value< 0.05). moreover, we found that the highest rate of depression was based on bdi (beck's depression inventory) questionnaire, and the east-ern region of iran. conclusion: according to the results, depression has prevailed among one tenth of the iranian nurses. the finding of this study can help improve the deci-sion- making process for treating depression in iranian nurses.