Traumatic Stress and Health Anxiety in Intensive Care Workers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Aims: Intensive care professionals are the individuals who are most exposed to the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare the, traumatic stress symptoms and health anxiety in intensive care unit (ICU) workers and non-ICU workers who have been playing an active role in caring for COVID-19 patients. Method: The sociodemographic characteristics of all the healthcare professionals working in the ICU and other units, were recorded. In addition, their history of COVID-19 infection, living with an elderly person, intensive care hospitalization history of relatives, and death status of relatives due to COVID-19 were recorded. The participants were divided into two groups, namely ICU workers and non-ICU workers. The Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI)and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scales were applied to all the participants. Results: Of the 150 healthcare workers initially identified, 116 agreed to participate in this study. Sixty-nine (59.5%) of them were working in the ICU, while 47 (40.5%) were in non-ICU. The mean IES-R score of all participants was 40.19 ± 15.73. When the IES-R scores and ICU results with non-ICUs were compared, the healthcare workers who work in ICU had significantly higher total IES-R scores (42.83 ± 14.65, p <0,01) and sub-scores, including hyperarousal (11.75 ± 5.24, p <0.01), avoidance (14.90 ± 5.52, p <0.01), intrusion (16.17 ± 6.38, p <0.01), than those who does not work in ICU. The HAI scores did not show a significant difference between the two groups (19.59 ± 7.50 for the ICU group vs. 18.40 ± 7.04 for the non-ICU group) (p=0.392). Conclusions: Present study predicts that the COVID-19 pandemic increases traumatic stress, especially in healthcare workers working in ICU. For this reason, psychological assistance is vital to protect healthcare professionals from the acute and long-term effects of trauma.

Keywords

• traumatic stress
• health anxiety
• COVID19

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