Prevalence of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Status Among Healthcare Workers and Its Impact on Their Mental Health During the Crisis of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

ObjectiveAfter the unprecedented coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the health status of the general population has suffered a huge threat, and the mental health of front-line healthcare providers has also encountered great challenges. Therefore, this study aims to: (1) investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among healthcare providers, and (2) verify the moderating role of self-efficacy in the influence of PTSD on mental health.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey of 1993 participants. The presence of depression, anxiety, self-efficacy, and PTSD was evaluated using screening tests from March 1. Sociodemographic and COVID-19-related data were also collected. A data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression.ResultsThe prevalence of PTSD among healthcare providers was 9.3%. PTSD was negatively correlated with self-efficacy (r = −0.265, P < 0.01), anxiety (r = −0.453, P < 0.01), and depression (r = 0.708, P < 0.01). Profession, daily working hours, maximum continuous working days, and daily sleep time were influencing factors of PTSD. A binary logistic regression analysis showed that physicians (OR = 2.254, 95% CI = 1.298, 3.914) and nurses (OR = 2.176, 95% CI = 1.337, 3.541) were more likely to experience PTSD than other healthcare providers.ConclusionSelf-efficacy has a moderating effect on the influence of PTSD on anxiety and depression. This suggests that health managers need to respond to the current psychological crisis of healthcare providers, implement appropriate psychological interventions, and minimize the psychological harm caused by COVID-19.

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“…These findings align, particularly with what has been reported by medical professionals and nurses in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, given the nature of their work (caring for critical patients, frontline work, etc.) [55].…”

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“…Another emerging area of interest is PTSD following the COVID‐19 pandemic. Multiple studies have reported on PTSD diagnoses in COVID‐19 survivors (Chang & Park, 2020; Tarsitani et al., 2021) as well as among health care workers treating COVID‐19 patients (Yang et al., 2022; B. Yu et al., 2022). It is likely that PTSD prevalence and its association with health outcomes (e.g., stroke) is underestimated due to a lack of the proper infrastructure for data collection on PTSD exposure outside of the veteran population or WTC attack survivors in the United States.…”

“…Another emerging area of interest is PTSD following the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple studies have reported on PTSD diagnoses in COVID-19 survivors (Chang & Park, 2020;Tarsitani et al, 2021) as well as among health care workers treating COVID-19 patients (Yang et al, 2022;B. Yu et al, 2022).…”

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“…The choice of assessment tools can influence reported prevalence rates, emphasizing the importance of standardized and culturally sensitive measures to capture the true extent of PTSD in different populations. PTSD varies widely, with a lifetime prevalence ranging from 6.1 to 9.2% in national samples ( 42 , 47 , 48 ). In the United States, the 1 year prevalence of PTSD was estimated at 6.7% among male veterans and 11.7% among female veterans, and the lifetime prevalence was reported to range from 3.4 to 26.9% among civilians.…”

“…Factors, such as female sex, lower income, younger age, and behavioral health conditions, were identified as risk factors for PTSD ( 47 , 48 ). These findings highlight the importance of understanding significant moderators of PTSD prevalence for tailoring interventions and support strategies for those at risk of or experiencing PTSD.…”