Stress assessment among internal medicine residents in a level-3 hospital versus a level-2 hospital with only emergency room service for COVID-19

Background Treating COVID-19 patients can affect anxiety. Objective To compare the anxiety of internal medicine residents treating COVID-19 patients at a level-3 hospital with a level-2 hospital. Methods A questionnaire related to COVID-19 and anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S)...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yael Milgrom, Vered Richter
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Greater Baltimore Medical Center 2020-07-01
Series:Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20009666.2020.1782309
Description
Summary:Background Treating COVID-19 patients can affect anxiety. Objective To compare the anxiety of internal medicine residents treating COVID-19 patients at a level-3 hospital with a level-2 hospital. Methods A questionnaire related to COVID-19 and anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) was sent to internal medicine residents of a COVID-19 referral level-3 hospital and a level-2 hospital from which all diagnosed COVID-19 cases are transferred to the COVID-19 referral hospital. Results Responses were received from 76.3% of the internal medicine residents. There was no difference in the anxiety scores between residents from the level-3 center (44.4) and the level-2 center (44.4), p = 0.9. There was a significant difference between the number of residents from the level-3 center, 22/56 (63%) and the number of residents from the level-2 center, 1/10 (10%) who were concerned about better protective gear (p = 0.003) and between residents from the level-3 center19/35 (54%) and those from the level-2 center, 1/10 (10%) who were concerned about infecting their families (p = 0.01). Conclusions The internal medicine resident anxiety scores were not a function of hospital level, but safety was less of a concerns in the level-2 center with only emergency room COVID-19 services.
ISSN:2000-9666