The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country
Background: The global pandemic of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented psychological stress on health workers (HCWs). We aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on HCWs in comparison to the stress brought on by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Infection and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034120304871 |
| _version_ | 1811222875176173568 |
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| author | Mohamad-Hani Temsah Fahad Al-Sohime Nurah Alamro Ayman Al-Eyadhy Khalid Al-Hasan Amr Jamal Ibrahim Al-Maglouth Fadi Aljamaan Maha Al Amri Mazin Barry Sarah Al-Subaie Ali Mohammed Somily |
| author_facet | Mohamad-Hani Temsah Fahad Al-Sohime Nurah Alamro Ayman Al-Eyadhy Khalid Al-Hasan Amr Jamal Ibrahim Al-Maglouth Fadi Aljamaan Maha Al Amri Mazin Barry Sarah Al-Subaie Ali Mohammed Somily |
| author_sort | Mohamad-Hani Temsah |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The global pandemic of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented psychological stress on health workers (HCWs). We aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on HCWs in comparison to the stress brought on by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) epidemic in Saudi Arabia. Method: Between February 5th and 16th, 2020, 811 health-care workers (HCWs) of a tertiary care teaching hospital were invited to fill a questionnaire regarding concerns and worries about the novel coronavirus pandemic, along with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Anxiety Severity screening tool. Results: Out of 582 HCWs who completed the survey questionnaire (response rate of 71.8%), about 40% were exposed previously to MERS-CoV infected or suspected patients during a previous hospital outbreak. While there were no COVID-19 cases reported yet in Saudi Arabia at the time of data collection, still, the anxiety level from COVID-19 was significantly higher than that from MERS-CoV or seasonal influenza: 41.1% were more worried about COVID-19, 41.4% were similarly worried about both MERS-CoV and COVID-19, and 17.5% were more stressed by the previous MERS-CoV hospital outbreak. The most frequent concern was transmitting the infection to family and friends (2.71/5) than to themselves only (2.57/5). Conclusion: Pandemic and epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID-19 or MERS-CoV impose a significant level of anxiety and stress on healthcare workers who are caring of infected patients, with their main concern being the risk of transmitting the infection to their families or to acquire it themselves. Therefore, optimizing the compliance of healthcare workers with the proper infection prevention and control measures is paramount during the infectious disease outbreak, to ensure their safety, to decrease the likelihood of getting infected or transmitting the infection to others, and consequently to alleviate their psychological stress and anxiety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:23:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-880343385e4045d8992368535c0e5703 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1876-0341 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T08:23:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Infection and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-880343385e4045d8992368535c0e57032022-12-22T03:40:30ZengElsevierJournal of Infection and Public Health1876-03412020-06-01136877882The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic countryMohamad-Hani Temsah0Fahad Al-Sohime1Nurah Alamro2Ayman Al-Eyadhy3Khalid Al-Hasan4Amr Jamal5Ibrahim Al-Maglouth6Fadi Aljamaan7Maha Al Amri8Mazin Barry9Sarah Al-Subaie10Ali Mohammed Somily11College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; College of Medicine Research Center, King Saud University, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Adult Critical Care Department, King Saud University, King Saud University Medical City, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Infectious Disease, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Infectious Disease Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaCollege of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Department of Pediatrics, King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Saud University and King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author at: College of Medicine, King Saud University, King Saud University Medical City, Microbiology (32), PO Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia.Background: The global pandemic of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has led to unprecedented psychological stress on health workers (HCWs). We aimed to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 on HCWs in comparison to the stress brought on by the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) epidemic in Saudi Arabia. Method: Between February 5th and 16th, 2020, 811 health-care workers (HCWs) of a tertiary care teaching hospital were invited to fill a questionnaire regarding concerns and worries about the novel coronavirus pandemic, along with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Anxiety Severity screening tool. Results: Out of 582 HCWs who completed the survey questionnaire (response rate of 71.8%), about 40% were exposed previously to MERS-CoV infected or suspected patients during a previous hospital outbreak. While there were no COVID-19 cases reported yet in Saudi Arabia at the time of data collection, still, the anxiety level from COVID-19 was significantly higher than that from MERS-CoV or seasonal influenza: 41.1% were more worried about COVID-19, 41.4% were similarly worried about both MERS-CoV and COVID-19, and 17.5% were more stressed by the previous MERS-CoV hospital outbreak. The most frequent concern was transmitting the infection to family and friends (2.71/5) than to themselves only (2.57/5). Conclusion: Pandemic and epidemic infectious diseases such as COVID-19 or MERS-CoV impose a significant level of anxiety and stress on healthcare workers who are caring of infected patients, with their main concern being the risk of transmitting the infection to their families or to acquire it themselves. Therefore, optimizing the compliance of healthcare workers with the proper infection prevention and control measures is paramount during the infectious disease outbreak, to ensure their safety, to decrease the likelihood of getting infected or transmitting the infection to others, and consequently to alleviate their psychological stress and anxiety.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034120304871COVID-19 pandemicEndemic MERS-CoV anxietyHealthcare workers |
| spellingShingle | Mohamad-Hani Temsah Fahad Al-Sohime Nurah Alamro Ayman Al-Eyadhy Khalid Al-Hasan Amr Jamal Ibrahim Al-Maglouth Fadi Aljamaan Maha Al Amri Mazin Barry Sarah Al-Subaie Ali Mohammed Somily The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country Journal of Infection and Public Health COVID-19 pandemic Endemic MERS-CoV anxiety Healthcare workers |
| title | The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country |
| title_full | The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country |
| title_fullStr | The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country |
| title_full_unstemmed | The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country |
| title_short | The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in a MERS-CoV endemic country |
| title_sort | psychological impact of covid 19 pandemic on health care workers in a mers cov endemic country |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic Endemic MERS-CoV anxiety Healthcare workers |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034120304871 |
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