The Psychological Toll on Healthcare Workers Following Türkiye's Earthquake Disasters

Abstract

Objective: The Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes in Türkiye profoundly impacted local healthcare workers' mental health. This study examines the relationships between sociodemographic and clinical variables, perceived social support, and psychological resilience in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) development. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 104 healthcare workers from ten affected provinces: Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa. Participants completed the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Results: The results revealed that 17.3% of participants exhibited severe trauma responses, while 82.7% had low trauma responses. Higher PTSD rates were associated with individuals living in moderately to severely damaged homes (%13.5, p=0.009) and assistant doctors whose education was interrupted by the disaster (%5.87, p= 0.019). Furthermore, PTSD diagnosis was positively correlated with anxiety (33±9, p<0.001) and depression scores (28±13, p<0,001) and negatively correlated with resilience (43±13, p<0.001). Conclusion: These findings emphasize the urgent need for improved working conditions and the implementation of long-term follow-up studies for healthcare workers in earthquake-prone areas, to address the psychological impact of such disasters.

Keywords

• Earthquakes
• healthcare workers
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• psychological resilience

Türkiye’deki Deprem Felaketlerinin Sağlık Çalışanları Üzerindeki Psikolojik Etkisi

Öz

Amaç: Türkiye’de Kahramanmaraş merkezli depremler, bölgedeki sağlık çalışanlarının ruh sağlığını derinden etkilemiştir. Bu çalışma, sosyodemografik ve klinik değişkenler, algılanan sosyal destek ve psikolojik dayanıklılık ile Travma Sonrası Stres Bozukluğu (TSSB) gelişimi arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Materyal ve Metot: Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye ve Şanlıurfa illerindeki sağlık çalışanları arasında kesitsel bir anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Katılımcılara, DSM-5 TSSB Kontrol Listesi (PCL-5), Beck Anksiyete Ölçeği (BAI), Beck Depresyon Ölçeği (BDI), Çok Boyutlu Algılanan Sosyal Destek Ölçeği (MSPSS) ve Connor-Davidson Dayanıklılık Ölçeği (CD-RISC) uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Sonuçlar, katılımcıların %17,3’ünün yüksek düzeyde travma tepkisi gösterdiğini, %82,7’sinin ise düşük düzeyde travma tepkisi gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Orta veya ciddi hasar görmüş evlerde yaşayan (%13,5, p=0,009) ve eğitimleri deprem nedeniyle kesintiye uğrayan asistan doktorlar (%5,87, p= 0,019) arasında daha yüksek TSSB oranları görülmüştür. Ayrıca, TSSB tanısı, anksiyete (33±9, p<0,001) ve depresyon skorları (28±13, p<0,001) ile pozitif, dayanıklılık ile negatif bir ilişki göstermiştir (43±13, p<0,001). Sonuç: Bu bulgular, sağlık çalışanlarının ruhsal etkilerle başa çıkabilmesi için çalışma koşullarının iyileştirilmesi ve uzun dönem takip çalışmalarının uygulanması gerekliliğini vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Depremler
• sağlık çalışanları
• post-travmatik stres bozuklukları
• psikolojik dirençlilik

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