Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain
Objectives To determine the volume of health professionals who suffered distress due to their care of patients with COVID-19 and to analyse the direction in which the response capacity of the professionals to face future waves of COVID-19 is evolving.Design A cross-sectional study.Setting Primary ca...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-11-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e042555.full |
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| author | Irene Carrillo Mercedes Guilabert Aurora Mula Jimmy Martin-Delgado Maria Virtudes Pérez-Jover César Fernández |
| author_facet | Irene Carrillo Mercedes Guilabert Aurora Mula Jimmy Martin-Delgado Maria Virtudes Pérez-Jover César Fernández |
| author_sort | Irene Carrillo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To determine the volume of health professionals who suffered distress due to their care of patients with COVID-19 and to analyse the direction in which the response capacity of the professionals to face future waves of COVID-19 is evolving.Design A cross-sectional study.Setting Primary care and hospitals in Spain.Participants A non-randomised sample of 685 professionals (physicians, nurses and other health staff).Primary and secondary outcome measures Frequency and intensity of stress responses measured by the Acute Stress of Health Professionals Caring COVID-19 Scale (EASE). Variation of stress responses according to the number of deaths per day per territory and the evolutionary stage of the COVID-19 outbreak measured by the Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney U tests.Results The average score on the EASE Scale was 11.1 (SD 6.7) out of 30. Among the participants, 44.2% presented a good emotional adjustment, 27.4% a tolerable level of distress, 23.9% medium–high emotional load and 4.5% extreme acute stress. The stress responses were more intense in the most affected territories (12.1 vs 9.3, p=0.003) and during the disillusionment phase (12.7 vs 8.5 impact, 10.2 heroic and 9.8 honeymoon, p=0.000).Conclusions The pandemic has affected the mental health of a significant proportion of health professionals which may reduce their resilience in the face of future waves of COVID-19. The institutional approaches to support the psychological needs of health professionals are essential to ensure optimal care considering these results. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9a8092d2f54740489183eb42aeec7632 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-9a8092d2f54740489183eb42aeec76322025-08-20T02:27:53ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-11-01101110.1136/bmjopen-2020-042555Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in SpainIrene Carrillo0Mercedes Guilabert1Aurora Mula2Jimmy Martin-Delgado3Maria Virtudes Pérez-Jover4César Fernández5Health Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, SpainDepartment of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, SpainFoundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of Valencia Region (FISABIO), San Juan, Spain4 Fundació per al Foment de la Investigació Sanitària i Biomèdica de la Comunitat Valenciana (Fisabio), Sant Joan d`Alacant, Alicante, SpainHealth Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, Valenciana, SpainDepartment of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, SpainObjectives To determine the volume of health professionals who suffered distress due to their care of patients with COVID-19 and to analyse the direction in which the response capacity of the professionals to face future waves of COVID-19 is evolving.Design A cross-sectional study.Setting Primary care and hospitals in Spain.Participants A non-randomised sample of 685 professionals (physicians, nurses and other health staff).Primary and secondary outcome measures Frequency and intensity of stress responses measured by the Acute Stress of Health Professionals Caring COVID-19 Scale (EASE). Variation of stress responses according to the number of deaths per day per territory and the evolutionary stage of the COVID-19 outbreak measured by the Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney U tests.Results The average score on the EASE Scale was 11.1 (SD 6.7) out of 30. Among the participants, 44.2% presented a good emotional adjustment, 27.4% a tolerable level of distress, 23.9% medium–high emotional load and 4.5% extreme acute stress. The stress responses were more intense in the most affected territories (12.1 vs 9.3, p=0.003) and during the disillusionment phase (12.7 vs 8.5 impact, 10.2 heroic and 9.8 honeymoon, p=0.000).Conclusions The pandemic has affected the mental health of a significant proportion of health professionals which may reduce their resilience in the face of future waves of COVID-19. The institutional approaches to support the psychological needs of health professionals are essential to ensure optimal care considering these results.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e042555.full |
| spellingShingle | Irene Carrillo Mercedes Guilabert Aurora Mula Jimmy Martin-Delgado Maria Virtudes Pérez-Jover César Fernández Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain BMJ Open |
| title | Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain |
| title_full | Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain |
| title_fullStr | Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain |
| title_short | Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution: a cross-sectional study in Spain |
| title_sort | acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the covid 19 pandemic evolution a cross sectional study in spain |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/11/e042555.full |
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