TY - JOUR
T1 - High levels of psychosocial distress among Australian frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - A cross-sectional survey
AU - Smallwood, Natasha
AU - Karimi, Leila
AU - Bismark, Marie
AU - Putland, Mark
AU - Johnson, Douglas
AU - Dharmage, Shyamali Chandrika
AU - Barson, Elizabeth
AU - Atkin, Nicola
AU - Long, Claire
AU - Ng, Irene
AU - Holland, Anne
AU - Munro, Jane E.
AU - Thevarajan, Irani
AU - Moore, Cara
AU - McGillion, Anthony
AU - Sandford, Debra
AU - Willis, Karen
N1 - Funding Information:
1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, Australia 2Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Central Clinical School, Alfred Hospital, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 4School of Medicine and Healthcare Management, Caucasus University, Tbilisi, Georgia 5Department of Psychiatry, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 6Department of Public Health Law, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 7Department of Emergency Services, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 8Department of Critical Care, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 9Departments of General Medicine and Infectious Diseases, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 10Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 11Allergy and Lung Health Unit, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 12Department of Allied Health, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 13Parkville Integrated Palliative Care Service, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 14Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 15Department of Geriatric Medicine, Western Health, Footscray, Victoria, Australia 16Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 17Centre for Integrated Critical Care, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 18Department of Physiotherapy, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 19Rheumatology Unit, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 20Arthritis and Rheumatology, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 21Department of Infectious Diseases, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 22Department of Intensive Care Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 23School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 24Royal Adelaide Hospital, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 25College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria, Australia 26Division of Critical Care and Investigative Services, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge and thank The Royal Melbourne Hospital Foundation and the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation for financial support for this study. We wish to thank the numerous health organisations, universities, professional societies, associations and colleges, and many supportive individuals who assisted in disseminating the survey. We thank The Royal Melbourne Hospital Business Intelligence Unit who provided and hosted the REDCap electronic data capture tools.
Funding Information:
Funding The Royal Melbourne Hospital Foundation and the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation kindly provided financial support for this study.
Publisher Copyright:
©
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound and prolonged impact on healthcare services and healthcare workers. Aims The Australian COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Workers Study aimed to investigate the severity and prevalence of mental health issues, as well as the social, workplace and financial disruptions experienced by Australian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A nationwide, voluntary, anonymous, single timepoint, online survey was conducted between 27 August and 23 October 2020. Individuals self-identifying as frontline healthcare workers in secondary or primary care were invited to participate. Participants were recruited through health organisations, professional associations or colleges, universities, government contacts and national media. Demographics, home and work situation, health and psychological well-being data were collected. Results A total of 9518 survey responses were received; of the 9518 participants, 7846 (82.4%) participants reported complete data. With regard to age, 4110 (52.4%) participants were younger than 40 years; 6344 (80.9%) participants were women. Participants were nurses (n=3088, 39.4%), doctors (n=2436, 31.1%), allied health staff (n=1314, 16.7%) or in other roles (n=523, 6.7%). In addition, 1250 (15.9%) participants worked in primary care. Objectively measured mental health symptoms were common: mild to severe anxiety (n=4694, 59.8%), moderate to severe burnout (n=5458, 70.9%) and mild to severe depression (n=4495, 57.3%). Participants were highly resilient (mean (SD)=3.2 (0.66)). Predictors for worse outcomes on all scales included female gender; younger age; pre-existing psychiatric condition; experiencing relationship problems; nursing, allied health or other roles; frontline area; being worried about being blamed by colleagues and working with patients with COVID-19. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with significant mental health symptoms in frontline healthcare workers. Crisis preparedness together with policies and practices addressing psychological well-being are needed.
AB - Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a profound and prolonged impact on healthcare services and healthcare workers. Aims The Australian COVID-19 Frontline Healthcare Workers Study aimed to investigate the severity and prevalence of mental health issues, as well as the social, workplace and financial disruptions experienced by Australian healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A nationwide, voluntary, anonymous, single timepoint, online survey was conducted between 27 August and 23 October 2020. Individuals self-identifying as frontline healthcare workers in secondary or primary care were invited to participate. Participants were recruited through health organisations, professional associations or colleges, universities, government contacts and national media. Demographics, home and work situation, health and psychological well-being data were collected. Results A total of 9518 survey responses were received; of the 9518 participants, 7846 (82.4%) participants reported complete data. With regard to age, 4110 (52.4%) participants were younger than 40 years; 6344 (80.9%) participants were women. Participants were nurses (n=3088, 39.4%), doctors (n=2436, 31.1%), allied health staff (n=1314, 16.7%) or in other roles (n=523, 6.7%). In addition, 1250 (15.9%) participants worked in primary care. Objectively measured mental health symptoms were common: mild to severe anxiety (n=4694, 59.8%), moderate to severe burnout (n=5458, 70.9%) and mild to severe depression (n=4495, 57.3%). Participants were highly resilient (mean (SD)=3.2 (0.66)). Predictors for worse outcomes on all scales included female gender; younger age; pre-existing psychiatric condition; experiencing relationship problems; nursing, allied health or other roles; frontline area; being worried about being blamed by colleagues and working with patients with COVID-19. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with significant mental health symptoms in frontline healthcare workers. Crisis preparedness together with policies and practices addressing psychological well-being are needed.
KW - anxiety
KW - COVID-19
KW - depression
KW - mental health
KW - post-traumatic
KW - stress disorders
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113523957&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/gpsych-2021-100577
DO - 10.1136/gpsych-2021-100577
M3 - Review Article
C2 - 34514332
AN - SCOPUS:85113523957
SN - 2517-729X
VL - 34
JO - General Psychiatry
JF - General Psychiatry
IS - 5
M1 - e100577
ER -
