Psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic amongst anaesthesiologists and nurses

Abstract

EditordThe 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has overwhelmed healthcare systems worldwide, profoundly impacting the lives of anaesthesiologists, intensivists, and nurses caring for the critically ill. Such high-acuity patient care imposes a significant physical and cognitive burden, which is further compounded by increased workloads, staffing deficiencies, and equipment shortages. Participation in aerosol-generating procedures and frequent direct patient contact may increase risk of infection. Government-imposed containment measures may lead to social isolation and restrict access to usual coping mechanisms. Exposure to contagion may also engender concerns from staff living with older people and young children. The previous severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak of 2003 saw emotional exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and burnout afflicting healthcare workers. 1,2 Similarly, studies on healthcare workers from China and Italy have described stress-related anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3,4 These studies did not specifically examine intensive care providers, who may constitute a highrisk subgroup. We sought to determine the prevalence and severity of psychological distress amongst anaesthesiologists and nurses working in ICUs during this pandemic, and identify potential risk factors. We also studied their main concerns, perceptions of pandemic preparedness, training adequacy, and staff protection. This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted at a 1240-bed tertiary academic medical centre in Singapore. During this pandemic, anaesthesiologists were rostered into ICUs in our hospital. Ethics approval was obtained from the institutional domain-specific review board (2020/00648) before commencement of the study. All anaesthesiologists (including trainees) and nurses working in ICUs were invited to participate with a one-time self-administered online questionnaire. The sampling period was June 11e15, 2020, during which Singapore saw 400 to 500 new cases daily, with a cumulative total exceeding 40 000 cases for a population of~5.8 million. Two survey completion reminders were issued. All participants completed a 46question, closed-ended, self-reporting questionnaire (Supplementary Appendix 1). No identifying information was collected. The anonymised questionnaire collected participant characteristics, medical history, and workplace characteristics, such as redeployment outside normal professional boundaries, direct COVID-19 patient care, workload during the pandemic,

Prevalence of stress, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbance among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The overall pooled point estimates of depression reported by the 62 studies [ 19 , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , 34 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 42 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 51 , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , 62 , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] , [77] , [78] , [79] , [80] , [81] , [82] , [83] , [84] , [85] , [86] , [87] , [88] , 90 , 91 , [94] , [95] , [96] , [99] , [100] , [101] , [102] , [103] , [105] , [106] , [107] , [108] ] varied between 9% and 89% ( Fig. 4 : forest plots).…”

Decline in the mental health of nurses across the globe during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Depression: Pooled prevalence of depression from 17 studies [ 9 , 10 , 12 , 29 - 34 , 37 - 39 , 41 , 43 , 46 - 48 ] was 32% (95% CI = 21%-44%) with significant heterogeneity ( I 2 = 99.4%, P < 0.01) ( Figure 4 ). Different estimates of pooled prevalence were found with respect to the degree of depression; mild (23.8%), moderate (11%), severe (4%) and highly severe (1.7%).…”

The impact of COVID-19 on oncology professionals: results of the ESMO Resilience Task Force survey collaboration

“… 3 , 4 In fact, the distress caused by COVID-19 is also experienced by physicians and surgeons across various specialties globally. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 Increased burnout has been reported in frontline health care professionals surveyed globally through social media. 11 In the study from Wuhan, China, oncology physicians and nurses dispatched to work as frontline health care workers in a dedicated COVID-19 ward paradoxically had lower rates of burnout compared with colleagues who continued to work in their usual surroundings.…”