Open AccessPersonal, professional, and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital workers: A cross-sectional survey
Author(s) -
Kimia Honarmand,
Christopher J. Yarnell,
Carol YoungRitchie,
Robert Maunder,
Fran Priestap,
Mohamed Abdalla,
Ian Ball,
John Basmaji,
Chaim M. Bell,
Lianne Jeffs,
S. Ismat Shah,
Jennifer Chen,
Danielle Leblanc,
Jessica Kayitesi,
Catherine Eta-Ndu,
Sangeeta Mehta
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0263438
Subject(s) - personal protective equipment , pandemic , workload , cross sectional study , feeling , medicine , scale (ratio) , burnout , distress , family medicine , covid-19 , psychology , nursing , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , disease , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , computer science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , operating system
Objectives We aimed to evaluate the personal, professional, and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital workers and their perceptions about mitigating strategies. Design Cross-sectional web-based survey consisting of (1) a survey of the personal and professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential mitigation strategies, and (2) two validated psychological instruments (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10] and Impact of Events Scale Revised [IES-R]). Regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictors of workplace stress, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress. Setting and participants Hospital workers employed at 4 teaching and 8 non-teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Among 1875 respondents (84% female, 49% frontline workers), 72% feared falling ill, 64% felt their job placed them at great risk of COVID-19 exposure, and 48% felt little control over the risk of infection. Respondents perceived that others avoided them (61%), reported increased workplace stress (80%), workload (66%) and responsibilities (59%), and 44% considered leaving their job. The psychological questionnaires revealed that 25% had at least some psychological distress on the K10, 50% had IES-R scores suggesting clinical concern for post-traumatic stress, and 38% fulfilled criteria for at least one psychological diagnosis. Female gender and feeling at increased risk due to PPE predicted all adverse psychological outcomes. Respondents favoured clear hospital communication (59%), knowing their voice is heard (55%), expressions of appreciation from leadership (55%), having COVID-19 protocols (52%), and food and beverages provided by the hospital (50%). Conclusions Hospital work during the COVID-19 pandemic has had important personal, professional, and psychological impacts. Respondents identified opportunities to better address information, training, and support needs.