COVID-19 and post-traumatic stress disorder among nurses: a descriptive cross-sectional study in a COVID hospital.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Marcomini, Ilaria Agus, Cristina Milani, Laura Sfogliarini, Roberto Bona, Annamaria Castagna, Marco
Copyright Year	2020
Abstract	Background:In March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic. Healthcare professionals directly involved in diagnosing, treating and caring for patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of PTSD among nurses working in a COVID hospital and evaluated associated factors.Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Crema Hospital and the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R) was administered. Data collection took place from July to September 2020, during which 275 questionnaires were distributed.Results:Of the total sample, 39.88% received a provisional PTSD diagnosis deserving of further analysis. Nurses stated that they were predominantly overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts (M = 1.55). Working in the emergency department during the COVID-19 pandemic (OR=2.40; p=0.02), irregular work shifts (OR=5.41; p=0.01) and coming from a mental health ward (OR=3.80; p=0.02) increased the risk of receiving a provisional PTSD diagnosis. Our findings showed significantly higher IES-R scores among women than among men (p = 0.01). The activities that caused the most distress were related to technical skills required for managing ventilation and intubation devices.Conclusions:The results of the study highlighted the presence of considerable psychological distress in the sample. There is an urgent need to monitor the short- and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and implement early intervention measures.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC8223933&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	00257818
Journal	La Medicina del Lavoro [Med Lav]
Volume Number	112
DOI	10.23749/mdl.v112i3.11129
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8223933
Issue Number	3
PubMed reference number	34142675
e-ISSN	25321080
Language	English
Publisher	Mattioli 1885 srl
Publisher Date	2021-06-15
Publisher Place	Italy
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Copyright: © 2020
Subject Keyword	COVID-19 PTSD nurses psychological distress
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health