This study aimed to examine the relationship and the predictive ability of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on psychological depression among male and female nurses who work at emergency and burn units in Duhok city. A descriptive, correlational, and predictive design was used. The study was carried out on a purposive sample of 132 nurses working in Azadi Teaching Hospital and the Burns and Plastic Surgery Hospital. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to collect data. The results revealed that the participants’ levels of PTSD (M = 52.068, SD = 11.829, theoretical mean = 60) and depression (M = 19.833, SD = 3.011, theoretical mean = 22.5) were below the theoretical means of the scales, indicating acquired psychological resilience. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation of 0.612 was found between the two variables, which is statistically significant at the 0.01 level. Regression analysis showed that PTSD is highly predictive and explained 38% of the variance in the nurses’ depression levels. By addressing a local research gap, this study contributes vital empirical evidence to the literature regarding the comorbidity of occupational trauma and depression in high-stress medical environments. Beyond proposing the establishment of special psychological support and debriefing units, the findings offer actionable data for health policymakers to design targeted preventive interventions, restructure work shift systems to mitigate professional burnout, and ultimately safeguard the quality and safety of patient care.
