Mental health assessment of Spanish healthcare workers during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A cross-sectional study

Pau Sobregrau Sangrà; Sira Aguiló Mir; Thaís Castro Ribeiro; Silvia Esteban-Sepúlveda; Esther García Pagès; Beatriz López Barbeito; José Luís Pomar Moya-Prats; Luís Pintor Pérez; Jordi Aguiló Llobet

doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152278

Mental health assessment of Spanish healthcare workers during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A cross-sectional study

Compr Psychiatry. 2022 Jan:112:152278. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152278. Epub 2021 Oct 9.

Authors

Pau Sobregrau Sangrà¹, Sira Aguiló Mir², Thaís Castro Ribeiro³, Silvia Esteban-Sepúlveda⁴, Esther García Pagès³, Beatriz López Barbeito², José Luís Pomar Moya-Prats⁵, Luís Pintor Pérez⁶, Jordi Aguiló Llobet⁷

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Department, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08036, Spain; Psychiatry Department, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain. Electronic address: sobregrau@clinic.es.
² Emergency Department, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08036, Spain.
³ Networking Biomedical Research Center: Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra 08193, Spain.
⁴ Research Group in Nursing Care (GRECI), Hospital del Mar Institute of Medical Research (IMIM), Barcelona 08003, Spain; Consorci Parc de Salut MAR de Barcelona, Hospital del Mar of Barcelona, Barcelona 08003, Spain.
⁵ Cardiac Surgery Department, The Thorax Institute, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain.
⁶ Psychiatry Department, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Barcelona 08036, Spain.
⁷ Microelectronics and Electronic Systems Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra 08193, Spain.

Abstract

Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak is posing unprecedented care scenarios, increasing the psychological distress among healthcare workers while reducing the efficiency of health systems. This work evaluated the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Spanish frontline healthcare workers of two tertiary hospitals.

Material and methods: Healthcare workers were recruited from the medical units designated for the care of Covid-19 patients. The psychological assessment consisted of an individual, face-to-face session where gold-standard psychometric tests were administered to assess stress (VASS & PSS-10), anxiety (STAI), depression (PHQ-2) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PCL-5). Regression models were also fitted to identify predictors of psychological distress.

Results: Overall, almost 13% of healthcare workers showed severe anxiety, while more than 26% had high levels of perceived stress. More than 23% presented severe posttraumatic stress symptoms, and another 13% had PHQ-2 scores equal to or above 3, compatible with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) diagnosis, respectively. Women, stress-related medication, overworking, performing in Covid-19 wards, and substance abuse were risk factors for increased psychological distress. Instead, practising exercise reduced the burden.

Conclusion: This study outlines the severe psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Spanish frontline healthcare workers. The stress, depression and anxiety levels found were similar to those reported in similar works but much higher than in Wuhan healthcare workers. Knowledge of risk factors for increased psychological distress may help to develop comprehensive intervention strategies to prevent, control and reduce the mental health exacerbation of healthcare workers, thereby maintaining the effectiveness of health systems in critical scenarios.

Keywords: Acute stress symptoms; Anxiety symptoms; Depression symptoms; Healthcare workers; Posttraumatic stress disorder; SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depressive Disorder, Major*
Female
Health Personnel
Humans
Mental Health
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2