Emotional Distress of the COVID-19 Cluster Infection on Health Care Workers Working at a National Hospital in Korea

Dec 7, 2021Journal of Korean medical science

Emotional stress in health care workers during a COVID-19 outbreak at a Korea national hospital

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Abstract

45.3% of healthcare workers reported emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emotional distress is associated with being female and managing close contacts with COVID-19 patients.
Higher scores on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder scales were observed in the distressed group.
Participants who felt they had not received adequate infection control training were more likely to experience emotional distress.
Logistic regression identified specific factors contributing to emotional distress among frontline healthcare workers.

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BACKGROUND: Frontline healthcare workers responding to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) inevitably face tremendous psychological burden. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the psychological impact and the factors contributing to the likely increase in emotional distress of healthcare workers.

METHODS: The participants include a total of 99 healthcare workers at Bugok National Hospital. Psychometric scales were used to assess emotional distress (12-item General Health Questionnaire; GHQ-12), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9; PHQ-9), and post-traumatic stress disorder-related symptoms (Impact of Events Scale-Revised; IES-R). A supplementary questionnaire was administered to investigate the experience of healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19-infected patients. Based on the results of GHQ-12 survey, participants were categorized into two groups: distress and non-distress. All the assessed scores were compared between the two groups. A logistic regression model was constructed to identify factors associated with emotional distress.

RESULTS: Emotional distress was reported by 45.3% (n = 45) of all participants. The emotionally distressed group was more likely to be female, manage close contacts, have higher scores on PHQ-9 and IES-R, feel increased professional risk, and report that proper infection control training was not provided. Female gender, managing close contacts, higher scores on PHQ-9, and a feeling that proper infection control training was not provided were associated with emotional distress in logistic regression.

CONCLUSION: Frontline healthcare workers face tremendous psychological burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, appropriate psychological interventions should be provided to the HCWs engaged in the management of COVID-19-infected patients.

Key numbers

45.3%

Prevalence of Emotional Distress

Percentage of healthcare workers reporting emotional distress.

11.24

Higher Depression Scores

Average PHQ-9 score for the distressed group.

23.77

Higher PTSD-like Symptoms

Average IES-R score for the distressed group.

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Emotional Distress of the COVID-19 Cluster Infection on Health Care Workers Working at a National Hospital in Korea

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