Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Workload and Emergency Care Workers’ Psychosocial Stress in the Outbreak Area

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Due to the unexpected spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there was a serious crisis of emergency medical system collapse. Healthcare workers working in the emergency department were faced with psychosocial stress and workload changes. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers in the emergency department in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, Korea, from November 16 to 25, 2020. In the survey, we assessed the general characteristics of the respondents; changes in the working conditions before and after the COVID-19 pandemic; and resulting post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety statuses using 49 questions. Results: A total of 529 responses were collected, and 520 responses were included for the final analyses. Changes in working conditions and other factors due to COVID-19 varied by emergency department level, region and disease group. Working hours, intensity, role changes, depression and anxiety scores were higher in the higher level emergency department. Isolation ward insufficiency and the risk of infection felt by healthcare workers tended to increase in the lower level emergency department. Treatment and transfer delay were higher in the fever and respiratory disease groups (M = 3.58, SD = 1.18; M = 4.08, SD = 0.95), respectively. In all the disease groups, both treatment and transfer were delayed more in Gyeongbuk than in Daegu. Conclusions: Different goals should be pursued by the levels and region of the emergency department to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and promote optimal care.

Rethinking Traditional Emergency Department Care Models in a Post-Coronavirus Disease-2019 World

“…During the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, most emergency departments saw acute drops in patient volume with variable recovery patterns while simultaneously experiencing uneven, location-dependent staffing and systems challenges. 1 , 2 , 3 In recent years, operational difficulties have worsened and now include record levels of inpatient boarding in the emergency department, widespread nursing shortages, higher rates of patients leaving without being seen by a provider, and declining patient satisfaction scores. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 …”

Editorial for the Special Issue “Emergency Medicine and Emergency Room Medical Issues”

“…In fact, surgical procedures routinely decreased during the first waves of the pandemic, because all intensive areas were used to manage severe COVID-19 cases [ 4 ]. Additionally, these simple changes induced, together with all other aspects of the pandemic and its life-threatening potential, psychological stress among emergency room workers [ 5 ]. On the other hand, great attention was given to the prognostic markers of adverse outcomes of patients affected by COVID-19 and admitted to emergency departments.…”