The Mental Health of Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study is to investigate the anxiety, depression, insomnia and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the assocaited sociodemographic, clinical and professional factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in healthhcare workers.

A total of 509 participants joined an online survey to complete the data acquisition tools consisting of a Sociodemographic and Clinical Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder- Short Scale (PTSD-SS).

The 509 participants of the study consisted of physicians (69.2%) and nurses (30.8%). On the basis of the scores above the cut-off points of the pscyhometric scales used, the mental symptoms of the participants were ranked as 54.2% on depression, 26.3% on anxiety, 20.8% on insomnia and 8.8% on PTSD. The corresponding scores of the 20-30 year old, the female and the nursing participants were significantly higher as compared to the others (p<0.001, for all). Significant differences were not found in these scores with respect to working or not working directly with COVID-19 patients, or having a family member with or without COVID-19 infection (p>0.05). Having a history of suspected COVID-19 infection was significantly associated with insomnia (p=0.026 and PTSD (p=0.008). Also, the anxiety and PTSD scores of the participants with a history of mental disorder diagnosis were significantly higher in comparison to the others (p<0.001).

The results indicated that females, nurses, participants in the 20-30 year age group and with a history of mental disorder diagnosis were in the high risk group for impaired mental health, irrespective of their professional positions. Close monitoring and early intervention are essential for these high-risk individuals.