Resilience and anxiety among intensive care unit professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The situation of the COVID‐19 global pandemic has generated an unprecedented state of emergency worldwide that has had a psychological impact on health care workers working in the ICU and this has created the need to implement different psychological strategies. Aim This study explores (a) the prevalence of symptoms associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), (b) the relationship between GAD symptoms and resilience skills, and (c) which of the resilience skills were associated with a probable GAD among the ICU professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Study design Cross‐sectional survey design. Methods We explored anxiety and resilience in 448 ICU health care workers using an online survey. Results The participants showed high resilience levels and more than half of them presented symptoms consistent with a possible diagnosis of GAD. The GAD symptoms were more prevalent among women, nursing assistants, interns, staff who worked on rotation and health care workers who had to attend to more than 20 COVID patients. Significant negative correlations between resilience skills and GAD symptoms were found. The multiple regression analysis showed that resilience skills contribute to 14.4% of the variance for GAD symptoms. The binary logistic regression showed that the only skill that had a significant and negative predictive effect was “I usually take things in my stride” (OR = 0.774, 95% CI 0.67, 0.88; P = .000). This ability was the differentiating skill between professionals who equal or exceed the cut‐off point established for the diagnosis of a probable GAD regarding those who do not. Conclusion ICU professionals developed symptoms consistent with a possible diagnosis of GAD due to their exposure to extremely stressful circumstances. However, resilience skills acted as a protective factor. Relevance to clinical practice The importance of incorporating programmes that mitigate these psychological effects and to promote adaptive coping styles during pandemics has become a need after what ICU professionals have gone through.

Academic stress, COVID‐19 anxiety, and quality of life among nursing students: The mediating role of resilience

“…Resilience is associated with lower levels of anxiety (Zhang et al., 2020 ). Similarly, anxiety symptoms and resilience and GAD‐7 scores correlated significantly and negatively with global resilience and acceptance of oneself and life in people with generalized anxiety disorders (Peñacoba et al., 2021 ). Corollary to our findings, health professionals, including nurses, identified a strong link between resilience and anxiety during the COVID‐19 pandemic (Setiawati et al., 2021 ).…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit workers: a nationwide survey

“…The finding that women and nurses are at greater risk of psychological distress than men are is consistent across most studies. 6 , 15 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 30 – 33 This may reflect greater and more prolonged direct exposure of nurses than other HCPs to COVID-19 patients, which may be intensified by the disproportionate burden of family and domestic responsibilities shouldered by women. 34 …”

Manifestation of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Its Association With Somatic Symptoms Among Occupational and Physical Therapists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…They must learn coping strategies that support the management of anxiety and psychological distress that is inevitably encountered during such experiences. Organizations and institutions should be required to offer positive support, to promote resilience, and to educate employees in adaptation/coping strategies ( 20 , 58 , 59 ). Doing so would reduce encountered stress and psychological distress and lead to better healthcare delivery ( 47 ).…”