Symptom characteristics of health care workers seeking outpatient psychiatric care during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Though there is a growing body of research establishing a broad negative psychological impact of COVID-19 among healthcare workers (HCWs), there are comparably fewer studies evaluating symptom presentation and clinical diagnoses among treatment-seeking HCWs. The present report seeks to fill this gap in the literature by establishing the prevalence of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, alcohol misuse, and well-being among treatment-seeking HCWs.Method: Data were collected from 421 treatment-seeking HCWs in an outpatient hospital-based mental health setting. Both self-report measures and semi-structured interviews were utilized to assess symptom severity and render psychiatric diagnosis at intake.Results: Adjustment disorders were the most prevalent diagnosis at 44.2%. Of the 347 who completed self-report measures, over 47% endorsed moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, with 13% endorsing suicidal ideation (SI). Fifty-eight percent scored in the moderate-to-severe range for anxiety, and 19% screened positive for COVID-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Further analyses revealed that those in medical support roles endorsed significantly greater depression symptoms relative to other groups and also reported SI at greater frequency. Medical trainees also endorsed SI at higher frequencies.Conclusions: These findings are consistent with previous research on the adverse impact of COVID-19 stressors on HCWs' mental health. We further identified vulnerable groups that are underrepresented in the literature. These findings highlight the need for targeted outreach and intervention among overlooked HCWs populations.

Improving Access and Quality of Behavioral Health Services for Health Care Employees

“…This program included evidence-based resilience workshops, a self-guided mental health app, and individual mental health care in the form of up to 14 sessions of CBT or medication management. Psychiatric symptom severity and DSM-V diagnoses were examined for a first cohort ( N = 427) seeking mental health treatment using some of the same measures reported in the current study 49 . The Doukas et al study reported somewhat higher rates of moderate-to-severe depressive (47%) and anxiety (58%) symptoms based on PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores relative to the current study, but similar to the current study, the overwhelming majority of patients were diagnosed with depressive, anxiety, or adjustment disorders.…”