Dataset Information

Stress and substance abuse among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in an intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Professionals working in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic have been exposed to stressful situations and increased workload. The association between symptoms of traumatic stress disorders, substance abuse and personal/occupational characteristics of Brazilian COVID-19-ICU workers is still to be addressed. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of those conditions and to find if those associations exist.

Methods

In this observational, single-center, cross-sectional study, all professionals working in a COVID-19 ICU were invited to fill an anonymous form containing screening tools for traumatic stress disorders and substance abuse, and a section with questions regarding personal and occupational information.

Results

Three hundred seventy-six ICU professionals participated. Direct exposure to patients infected by COVID-19, history of relatives infected by COVID-19, and sex (female) were significantly associated with signs and symptoms of traumatic stress disorders. 76.5% of the participants had scores compatible with a diagnosis of traumatic stress disorders. Moreover, the prevalence of scores suggestive of Tobacco and Alcohol abuse were 11.7% and 24.7%, respectively.

Conclusion

ICU workers had significantly elevated scores on both screening forms. Providing psycho-social support to ICU professionals may prevent future problems with traumatic stress disorders or substance abuse.

SUBMITTER: Vinicius Santinelli Pestana D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8830709 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Stress and substance abuse among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in an intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study.

Vinicius Santinelli Pestana Diego D Raglione Dante D Junior Luiz Dalfior LD Liberatti Caroline de Souza Pereira CSP Braga Elisangela Camargo EC Ezequiel Vitor Augusto de Lima VAL Alves Adriana da Silva ADS Mauro Juliana Gil JG Dias José Omar de Araújo JOA Moreira Paulo Thadeu Fantinato PTF Madureira Bruno Del Bianco BDB Paiva Lilian Petroni LP de Lucena Bruno Melo Nóbrega BMN Junior João Manoel Silva JMS Malbouisson Luiz Marcelo Sá LMS

PloS one 20220210 2

<h4>Objective</h4>Professionals working in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic have been exposed to stressful situations and increased workload. The association between symptoms of traumatic stress disorders, substance abuse and personal/occupational characteristics of Brazilian COVID-19-ICU workers is still to be addressed. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of those conditions and to find if those associations exist.<h4>Methods</h4>In this observational, single-center, ...[more]

PMID: 35143590

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Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed at documenting the levels of stress, depression, anxiety and participation in care among mothers versus fathers of newborns hospitalised in a third-level neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Northern Italy.MethodsParental stress, depression and anxiety were assessed by the Parental Stressor Scale in NICU (PSS:NICU), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Participation in care was evaluated with the Index of Parental Participation. Differences between mothers and fathers were assessed with the Mood's median test and z-test, respectively for continuous and discrete variables. Multivariate analyses controlling for potential confounders were performed to confirm gender differences.Results191 parents (112 mothers and 79 fathers) were enrolled. Mothers reported significantly higher median scores for stress (2.9 vs 2.2, p<0.001) and trait anxiety (37 vs 32, p=0.004) and higher depression rates (EPDS ≥12: 43.8% vs 19.0%, p<0.001). 'High stress' (PSS:NICU ≥3) was reported by 45.5% of mothers compared with 24.1% of fathers (p=0.004). The frequency of the three conditions simultaneously was significantly higher among mothers (20.0% vs 3.8%, p=0.016), with the vast majority of mothers (76.0%) suffering from at least one condition compared with less than half of fathers (45.3%, p<0.001). Participation in care was more frequent in mothers (median score: 19 vs 15, p<0.001), with the exception of activities related to advocacy (median 5 vs 4, p=0.053). In a multivariate analysis, gender differences in mental health outcomes did not change.ConclusionsRoutine screening of mental distress among parents of infants in NICU is warranted, and gender differences need to be acknowledged in order to deliver tailored support and to promote collaboration with the family of vulnerable newborns. Knowledge and skills on how to prevent and cope with mental distress of parents should be part of the core curriculum of staff working in NICU.

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Project description:Intensive care unit healthcare workers (ICU HCW) are at risk of mental health issues during emerging disease outbreaks. A study of ICU HCW from France revealed symptoms of anxiety and depression in 50.4% and 30.4% of workers at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic. The level of COVID-19 exposure of these ICU HCW was very high. In Canada, ICU HCW experienced variable exposure to COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, with some hospitals seeing large numbers of patients while others saw few or none. In this study we examined the relationship between COVID-19 exposure and mental health in Canadian ICU HCW. We conducted a cross-sectional cohort study of Canadian ICU HCW in April 2020, during the acceleration phase of the first wave of the pandemic. Psychosocial distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Participants were asked about sources of stress as well as about exposure to COVID-19 patients and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). Factors associated with clinically-relevant psychosocial distress were identified. Responses were received from 310 Canadian ICU HCW affiliated with more than 30 institutions. Of these, 64.5% scored ≥ 3 points on the GHQ-12 questionnaire, indicating clinically-relevant psychosocial distress. The frequency of psychosocial distress was highest amongst registered nurses (75.7%) and lowest amongst physicians (49.4%). It was also higher amongst females (64.9%) than males (47.6%). Although PPE availability was good (> 80% of participants reported adequate availability), there was significant anxiety with respect to PPE availability, with respect to the risk of being infected with COVID-19, and with respect to the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to others. In multivariable regression analysis, Anxiety with respect to being infected with COVID-19 (OR 1.53, CI 1.31-1.81) was the strongest positive predictor of clinically-relevant psychosocial distress while the Number of shifts with COVID-19 exposure (OR 0.86, CI 0.75-0.95) was the strongest negative predictor. In summary, clinically-relevant psychosocial distress was identified amongst a majority of ICU HCW during the acceleration phase of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including those with minimal or no exposure to COVID-19. Strategies to support mental health amongst ICU HCW are required across the entire healthcare system.

Dataset Information

Stress and substance abuse among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in an intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study.

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Stress and substance abuse among workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in an intensive care unit: A cross-sectional study.

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