The Psychological Impact of the Pandemic on Primary Health-care Providers: Perspectives from a Primary Care Clinic

Abstract

Objectives: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an issue worldwide, the foregoing phenomena are especially problematic for those in community health and rural clinics with limited funding available; such providers markedly reported that the pandemic negatively impacted their quality of life (QOL). Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary health-care providers at a primary care clinic. In addition, the research gathered information about respondents’ characteristics vis-à-vis the work-related psychological impact among providers. Subjects and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 62 primary health-care providers at a Primary Care Clinic in North Texas, with a 69% response rate (n = 43). In addition to descriptive statistics, multiple logistic regression was conducted to determine characteristics related to the presence of work-related psychological impact among providers. Results: Results revealed that the main psychological manifestations perceived by providers were work-related stress (77%), depression (51%), and anxiety (40%). In addition, the results showed that those subspecialists and chiropractors were less likely to report that the pandemic negatively impacted their QOL because they have previous exposure to similar traumatic events. Conclusion: The pandemic has led to relatively higher levels of psychological impact among primary health-care providers and chiropractic professionals at the clinic. The findings suggested that it is necessary to offer providers the necessary support to reduce the psychological impact derived from the pandemic. Future studies should include providers from diverse geographic locations in their sample for a better understanding of this phenomenon.