quality of life | The Journal of Critical Care Medicine

Family Burden of ICU Survivors and Correlations with Patient Quality of Life and Psychometric Scores – A Pilot Study

Vassiliki Mantziou, Charikleia S. Vrettou, Alice G. Vassiliou, Stylianos E. Orfanos, Anastasia Kotanidou, Ioanna Dimopoulou

1^st Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Services, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), “Evangelismos” Hospital, Athens, Greece

DOI: 10.2478/jccm-2022-0027

Introduction: Post intensive care syndrome (PICS) affects an increasing number of critical illness survivors and their families, with serious physical and psychological sequelae. Since little is known about the burden of critical illness on ICU survivor families, we conducted a prospective observational study aiming to assess this, and investigate correlations of the patients’ psychometric and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores with family burden.
Materials and Methods: Twenty-nine patients were evaluated in the presence of a family member. Participants were assessed with the use of validated scales for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive decline, and the family burden scale (FBS).
Results: High burden was present in 27.6% of family members. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the FBS score and trait anxiety, depression, and the physical and psychological components of HRQOL.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that family burden following critical illness is common, suggesting that its assessment should be incorporated in the evaluation of PICS-family in large observational studies.

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.