Psychological Stress of Healthcare Workers Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate the psychological stress of hospital workers and related factors during the period of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A survey was conducted among hospital workers between March 23 and April 1, 2020. The survey had four sections in total, including consent form, sociodemographic form, Turkish Impact of Events Scale, and depression, anxiety, and stress scale. Results: The mean age of 257 respondents was 36.7±9.1 (20–61) years, and 145(56.4%) of them were male. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptom level, depression, anxiety, and stress were significantly higher in women than in men (%95Cl, 1.09-3.73; p=0.026), (%95Cl, 1.61-5.47; p=0.001), (%95Cl, 1.23-3.97; p=0.008), (%95Cl, 1.36-4.86; p=0.004), respectively. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptom level rates of emergency room workers were significantly higher than those of the workers in other departments (%95Cl, 1.25-4.91; p=0.010). According to those who stated that the infection measures taken in the hospital were insufficient, the rates of depression, anxiety and stress was significantly higher than those who stated that they were sufficient (95%Cl, 1.51-7.18; p=0.003), (95% Cl, 1.23-5.23; p=0.011), (95%Cl, 1.47-8.18; p= 0.004), respectively. The rate of depression, anxiety, and stress was significantly higher in employees who previously had psychiatric disease than those who did not have disease before (95% Cl, 1.37-160.7; p=0.026), (95% Cl, 1.20-128.3; p=0.035), (% 95 Cl, 1.01-47.36, p=0.049), respectively. Conclusions: In the present study, we found that the mental health of hospital workers was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was a difference between departments. More psychological stress occurs in specific groups such as emergency services and female healthcare professionals, and these groups should primarily be provided with psychological support.