PLoS ONE (Jan 2022)

Psychological distress and burnout among healthcare worker during COVID-19 pandemic in India—A cross-sectional study

  • Geetha R. Menon,
  • Jeetendra Yadav,
  • Sumit Aggarwal,
  • Ravinder Singh,
  • Simran Kaur,
  • Tapas Chakma,
  • Murugesan Periyasamy,
  • Chitra Venkateswaran,
  • Prashant Kumar Singh,
  • Rakesh Balachandar,
  • Ragini Kulkarni,
  • Ashoo Grover,
  • Bijaya Kumar Mishra,
  • Maribon Viray,
  • Kangjam Rekha Devi,
  • K. H. Jitenkumar Singh,
  • K. B. Saha,
  • P. V. Barde,
  • Beena Thomas,
  • Chandra Suresh,
  • Dhanalakshmi A.,
  • Basilea Watson,
  • Pradeep Selvaraj,
  • Gladston Xavier,
  • Denny John,
  • Jaideep Menon,
  • Sairu Philip,
  • Geethu Mathew,
  • Alice David,
  • Raman Swathy Vaman,
  • Abey Sushan,
  • Shalini Singh,
  • Kiran Jakhar,
  • Asha Ketharam,
  • Ranjan Prusty,
  • Jugal Kishore,
  • U. Venkatesh,
  • Subrata Kumar,
  • Srikanta Kanungo,
  • Krushna Sahoo,
  • Swagatika Swain,
  • Anniesha Lyngdoh,
  • Jochanan Diengdoh,
  • Phibawan Syiemlieh,
  • AbuHasan Sarkar,
  • Gajanan Velhal,
  • Swapnil Kharnare,
  • Deepika Nandanwar,
  • M. Vishnu Vardhana Rao,
  • Samiran Panda

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 3

Abstract

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Background COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. The pandemic has stressed the healthcare system of India impacting the psychological status and functioning of health care workers. The aim of this study is to determine the burnout levels and factors associated with the risk of psychological distress among healthcare workers (HCW) engaged in the management of COVID 19 in India. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 by telephonic interviews using a web-based Google form. Health facilities and community centres from 12 cities located in 10 states were selected for data collection. Data on socio-demographic and occupation-related variables like age, sex, type of family, income, type of occupation, hours of work and income were obtained was obtained from 967 participants, including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, emergency response teams, lab personnel, and others directly involved in COVID 19 patient care. Levels of psychological distress was assessed by the General health Questionnaire -GHQ-5 and levels of burnout was assessed using the ICMR-NIOH Burnout questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the risk of psychological distress. The third quartile values of the three subscales of burnout viz EE, DP and PA were used to identify burnout profiles of the healthcare workers. Results Overall, 52.9% of the participants had the risk of psychological distress that needed further evaluation. Risk of psychological distress was significantly associated with longer hours of work (≥ 8 hours a day) (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI(1.66–3.41), income≥20000(AOR = 1.74, 95% CI, (1.16–2.6); screening of COVID-19 patients (AOR = 1.63 95% CI (1.09–2.46), contact tracing (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI (1.1–3.81), High Emotional exhaustion score (EE ≥16) (AOR = 4.41 95% CI (3.14–6.28) and High Depersonalisation score (DP≥7) (AOR = 1.79, 95% CI (1.28–2.51)). About 4.7% of the HCWs were overextended (EE>18); 6.5% were disengaged (DP>8) and 9.7% HCWs were showing signs of burnout (high on all three dimensions). Conclusion The study has identified key factors that could have been likely triggers for psychological distress among healthcare workers who were engaged in management of COVID cases in India. The study also demonstrates the use of GHQ-5 and ICMR-NIOH Burnout questionnaire as important tools to identify persons at risk of psychological distress and occurrence of burnout symptoms respectively. The findings provide useful guide to planning interventions to mitigate mental health problems among HCW in future epidemic/pandemic scenarios in the country.