Investigation of the Levels of Traumatic Stress and Alexitimia in Healthcare Workers in the Covid-19 Pandemic: An Example from Ordu Province

Year 2022, , 58 - 64, 28.04.2022

Deniz Deniz Özturan , Vildan Çakır Kardeş , Filiz Özsoy , Muhammet Sevindik , Atila Gürgen , Fatih Vahapoğlu Ebru Canakci

https://doi.org/10.29058/mjwbs.1064028

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Aim: In this study, we aimed to examine the traumatic stress levels caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
in healthcare workers and the relationship between traumatic stress levels and alexithymia Material and Methods: The study is cross-sectional and descriptive. In the study, we included 252 healthcare professionals who was
working in Ordu province and filled out the online questionnaire on a voluntary basis. Participants were all administered Sociodemographic
data form, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Impact of Events Scale (IES) online.
Results: Of 252 people included in the study, 60.3% were female, 39.6% were male. Of all the participants, 67.8% were doctors, 20.8% were
nurses/health officers, and 2% were medical secretaries. According to the scores of TAS-total and IES, the participants scored between 32
to 77 and between 0 to 79, respectively. There was no difference between genders regarding TAS (p>0.05). As for IES, women were found
out to get higher scores (p<0.05). A corelation was found between the scores of TAS-A and TAS-Total and the scores of IES.
Conclusion: In our study, female healthcare workers were reported to have higher levels of traumatic stress during the Covid-19 pandemic,
and alexithymia and trauma scores had a positive relationship. Our study showed that gender has an effect on traumatic stress. Getting
psychological support is vital for healthcare workers for them to work more efficiently during an pandemic period such as Covid-19.

Keywords

covid 19, healthcare workers, alexitimia

Covid-19 Pandemisinde Sağlık Çalışanlarında Travmatik Stres ve Aleksitimi Düzeylerinin Araştırılması: Ordu İli Örneği

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmada yeni korona virüs hastalığı 2019 (Covid-19) salgınının sağlık çalışanları üzerinde
oluşturduğu travmatik stres düzeylerini ve travmatik stres düzeyleri ile aleksitimi arasındaki ilişkiyi
incelemeyi amaçladık.
Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu araştırma kesitsel tipte ve tanımlayıcı bir çalışmadır. Araştırmaya gönüllülük
ilkesiyle, çevrimiçi anket formunu dolduran, Ordu ilinde görev yapan 252 sağlık çalışanı dahil edilmiştir.
Tüm katılımcılara sosyodemografik veri formu, Toronto Aleksitmi Ölçeği (TAÖ-20), Olayların Etkisi
Ölçeği (OEÖ) online ortamda uygulanmıştır.
Bulgular: Çalışmaya alınan 252 katılımcıdan %60,3’si kadın, %39,6’si erkekti. Ayrıca mesleki durumlarına
göre değerlendirildiğinde katılımcıların %67,8’si doktor, %20,8’si hemşire/sağlık memuru ve %2’si
ise tıbbi sekreterdi. TAÖ-toplam skoru için katılımcılar 32-77 arasında skor alırken; OEÖ için ise 0-79
arası skorlar elde edilmiştir. TAÖ için cinsiyetler arası farklılık saptanmadı (p>0,05). OEÖ için ise; kadınların
daha yüksek skorlar aldığı görüldü (p<0,05). TAS-A ve TAS-Toplam skoru ile OEÖ skorlarının
korelasyonuna bakıldığında iki ölçek arasında ilişki olduğu görüldü (p<0.05).
Sonuç: Çalışmamızda kadın sağlık çalışanlarının Covid-19 salgını sırasında daha fazla travmatik stres
düzeylerine sahip oldukları, aleksitimi ve travma skorları arasında pozitif yönde ilişki olduğu saptandı.
Çalışmamız cinsiyetin travmatik stres üzerinde etkisi olduğunu göstermiştir. Covid-19 gibi salgın
döneminde sağlık çalışanlarının psikolojik olarak desteklenmeleri daha verimli çalışabilmeleri açısından
oldukça önemli bir husustur.

Keywords

covid 19, stres, sağlık çalışanları

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