[Intensive Care Nurses, Psychological Disorders and COVID-19. The COVID IMPACT NATIONAL STUDY]

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned hospital under tension. Front-line staff, those most heavily exposed to the virus, are also those most at risk of developing psychological disorders. The aim of this national survey was to determine the prevalence of psychological disorders among the nurses working in intensive care unit during the pandemic. We developed an electronic questionnaire distributed by email between June 17th and July 17th, 2020. The responders were 381 health care professionals (nurses, anaesthetists nurse, operating room nurses and health managers). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Impact Event Scale Revisited were used to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Operating Room Nurses were those who suffered the most from psychological disorders: anxiety disorder (64%) (P = 0.055), depression (45%) (P = 0.004) and post-traumatic stress disorder (45%) (P = 0.008). Nurses usually working in intensive care were the least affected by psychological disorders: anxiety disorder (30%), depressive disorder (11%) and post-traumatic stress (20%). The risk factors for developing a psychological disorder are the low level of training in intensive care unit (ICU), not being volunteer for working in ICU and having a burnout history. This study describes a profile of professionals at risk of developing psychological disorders in this setting. Prevention should be based on staff training and psychological support.