Intensive care unit professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain: social and work-related variables, COVID-19 symptoms, worries, and generalized anxiety levels

Acute and Critical Care

Patricia Catalá-Mesón¹  Cecilia Peñacoba-Puente¹  Lilian Velasco-Furlong¹  F. Javier Carmona-Monge²  Fernando J. García-Hedrera³  Fernanda Gil-Almagro³ 

[1] Departamento de Psicología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Alcorcón, Spain;Servicio de Anestesiología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain;Unidad de Cuidados Críticos, Hospital Universitario Fundación Alcorcón, Madrid, Spain;

关键词: anxiety;    covid-19;    health personnel;    intensive care units;    personal protective equipment;    psychological stress;    sars-cov-2;   

DOI  :  10.4266/acc.2021.00213

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 outbreak has been identified as a pandemic and global health emergency. It presents as a severe acute respiratory disease. The rapid dissemination of the disease created challenges for healthcare systems and forced healthcare workers (HCWs) to deal with many clinical and nonclinical stresses. The aim of our research is to describe work conditions, symptoms experienced by HCWs, worries about contagion, and generalized anxiety symptoms and compare those findings across regions in Spain. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey. Critical care units throughout Spain were included. The sample comprised HCWs working in intensive care units from March to May 2020. We assessed work variables, physical symptoms, worries about contagion, and anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder-7 questionnaire). Results The final sample comprised 448 surveys. Among the respondents, 86.9% (n=389) were nursing professionals, and 84.8% (n=380) were women. All participants cared for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the study period. Workload during the pandemic in Madrid was judged to be higher than in other regions (P<0.01). The availability of personal protective equipment was found to be higher in Cataluña. The most frequently experienced symptom was headaches (78.1%). Worries about self-infection and the possibility of infecting others received mean scores of 3.11 and 3.75, respectively. Mean scores for generalized anxiety levels were 11.02, with 58.7% of the professionals presenting with generalized anxiety syndrome during the assessment. Conclusions In this study, we found high levels of anxiety among HCWs caring directly for COVID-19 patients, which could produce long-term psychological alterations that still need to be assessed.

【 授权许可】

Unknown