depression | The Journal of Critical Care Medicine

Occupational Stress and Quality of Life among Health Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Efstratios Vamvakas¹, Ioanna Kontogeorgou¹, Aggeliki Ntaountaki¹, Georgia Karkouli¹, Eleni Pisimisi¹, Eirini Karampekiou¹, Efstathios Politis¹, Iordana Moskofi¹, Dimitrios Konitopoulos¹, Eleni Dokoutsidou², Maria Grigoropoulou³, Maria Theodorakopoulou¹, Apostolos Armaganidis^1,4

1 Attikon General University Hospital, Athens, Greece
2 University of West Attika, Athens, Greece
3 Second Health Centre, Peristeri, Greece
4 Department of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0012

Introduction: Healthcare professionals, due to the nature of their work, have always experienced occupational stress, depression and low quality of life, which have been aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aim: A large-scale cross-sectional descriptive correlational study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Greek healthcare professionals’ psychological status and quality of life.
Material and Methods: The study was conducted at “Attikon” General University Hospital and the 2nd Health Region in Athens, Greece. An assessment of anxiety and depression was carried out using the Zung’s Self-Rating Anxiety and Depression Scale (SAS/SDS). To assess the participants’ Quality of Life (QoL) the Short Form Survey-36 (SF-36) was used.
Results: 147 healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. 70.7% experienced normal stress levels, 23.8% mild, 4.8% moderate and 0.7% severe. Mild depression was experienced by 34.7%, moderate by 10.2% and severe by 1.4%, with a 53.7% showing no depressive symptoms. Women experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression (p=0.001 & 0.001 respectively), and were 5.4 times more at risk to develop anxiety [Odds Ratio (OR) 5.357, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.95-14.72: p=0.001] and 3.4 depression (OR, 3.365, 95% CI, 1.59- 7.12: p=0.002). Nurses and other professionals experienced higher stress and depression levels (p=0.004 & 0.040 respectively) than doctors. Participants reporting more exhaustion exhibited higher anxiety and depression levels (p=0.001). Compared to the pre-COVID-19 era, women (p=0.001), other health professionals (p=0.001) and those experiencing more physical burnout during COVID-19 (p=0.005) reported worse physical health. Anxiety and depression were negatively correlated with most sub scales of SF-36 except social functioning and bodily pain (p=0.001).
Conclusions: Healthcare professionals’ QoL has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and they experience higher levels of anxiety and depression. There is a need to develop strategies to address the negative psychological impact of this pandemic on healthcare professionals.

Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Patients Discharged from Critical Care Units

Mohammad Saeidi¹, Alireza Safaei², Zohreh Sadat³, Parisa Abbasi⁴, Masoumeh Sadat Mousavi Sarcheshmeh⁵, Fariba Dehghani⁶, Mehran Tahrekhani⁷, Mohammad Abdi⁸

1 Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
2 School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester, UK
3 Trauma Nursing Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
4 Baharlo Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Bahman Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
6 Researcher of Spiritual Health Research Center, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran
7 Department of Nursing Education, Abhar School of Nursing, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
8 Department of Medical Education, Medical School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2021-0012

Introduction: The widespread use of advanced technology and invasive intervention creates many psychological problems for hospitalized patients; it is especially common in critical care units.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 310 patients hospitalized in critical care units, using a non-probability sampling method. Data were collected using depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) one month after discharge from the hospital. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results: 181 males and 129 females with a mean age (SD) of 55.11(1.62) years were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress were 46.5, 53.6 and 57.8% respectively, and the depression, anxiety and stress mean (SD) scores were 16.15(1.40), 18.57(1.46), 19.69(1.48), respectively. A statistically significant association was reported between depression, anxiety and stress with an increase in age, the number of children, occupation, education, length of hospital stay, use of mechanical ventilation, type of the critical care unit, and drug abuse.
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in patients discharged from critical care units was high. Therefore, crucial decisions should be made to reduce depression, anxiety and stress in patients discharged from critical care units by educational strategies, identifying vulnerable patients and their preparation before invasive diagnostic-treatment procedures.