The relationship between post-traumatic stress and positive mental health symptoms among health workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy, Italy

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing health workers (HW) worldwide to extreme burden and risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This problem emerged in Lombardy, the Italian region where the pandemic exacted the heaviest toll. Study aims were to assess mental health of HW in Lombardy after the peak of COVID-19 related hospitalizations, through the joint evaluation of PTSD and positive mental health; and to explore the potential role of positive mental health in PTSD development. Methods: HW completed an online survey including demographic and work-related information; PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Mental Health Continuum Short-Form. Analyses comprised calculation of percentages of participants meeting a provisional PTSD and mental health diagnosis (flourishing, moderate, languishing); a binary logistic regression with demographics, work-related features, and positive mental health as predictors, and provisional PTSD diagnosis as outcome. Results: Out of 653 participants, 39.8% received a provisional PTSD diagnosis; 33.4% reported flourishing, 57.7% moderate, and 8.9% languishing mental health. Regression analysis highlighted that women vs. men, nurses vs. technical/rehabilitation HW, frontline vs. second-line workers and languishing vs. moderately mentally healthy HW were more likely to receive a provisional PTSD diagnosis, whereas flourishing participants were more likely not to receive it. No role emerged for job seniority. Limitations: Self-reported PTSD scores, stress symptoms related to COVID-19 considered as a global stressor, cross-sectional study design. Conclusions: Findings suggest the potential usefulness of supporting vulnerable HW categories during massive disease outbreaks through emergency-focused professional training and psychological intervention addressing both positive mental health promotion and PTSD prevention.

Hopelessness and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Any Role for Mediating Variables?

“…No gender and working characteristic' differences were found, contrary to current literature describing differences for frontline nurses in terms of well-being, feelings of burn-out, fear of self-infection, and of their performance and quality of care for the patients [14,24,32,44,45]. Due to the significant increase in working hours and number of COVID-19 patients who need to be assisted, the stressful clinical practice of frontline healthcare workers could have determined frustration, feelings of lower competence, and low-self-esteem directly related to the growing number of deaths during the current pandemic.…”

Influencia de la pandemia del COVID-19 en la salud mental de los trabajadores en salud

“…Dentro de un estudio realizado en profesionales de salud en España, Turquía, Serbia, Estados Unidos, Rumanía, Italia y Reino Unido, se determinó que el grupo más afectado durante la pandemia fueron los que se encontraban en primera línea frente a la COVID 19, en especial, las enfermeras, que se caracterizaban por padecer estrés, ansiedad, Síndrome de Burnout, depresión y alteración del sueño (insomnio), más que otros profesionales de salud. Se encontró de igual manera El hecho de que el personal sanitario sea responsable del cuidado de pacientes con COVID-19 sin contar con el tratamiento específico ni apoyo adecuado, y asimismo se encuentre expuesto a situaciones médicas críticas y la muerte, hace que sea especialmente vulnerable al trastorno de estrés postraumático 31,32 .…”

Identifying Resilience Factors of Distress and Paranoia During the COVID-19 Outbreak in Five Countries

“…During trying times, a number of factors can help individuals survive, manage and adapt. Bassi et al ( 2021 ) found that Italian health workers classified as thriving individuals were less likely to have post-traumatic stress (PTSD) during the pandemic. The term thriving denotes the state of fully functioning in mental, physical, and social terms (Su et al, 2014 ).…”