Journal of Contemporary Medicine (Dec 2020)
Anxiety Levels and Associated Factors Among Emergency Department Personnel Fighting COVID-19
Abstract
Aim: We aimed to determine anxiety levels of the emergency department (ED) personnel working in close contact with infected patients and potential risk factors associated with this anxiety. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted among healthcare personnel working at the ED of the tertiary healthcare hospital in question, who are directly involved in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The participants were administered a questionnaire that included items on sociodemographic characteristics; items on health, social, and demographic factors considered to be related with anxiety; and the 40 items of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: The study included 138 healthcare professionals. In total, 29.7% of the participants were female and 70.3% were male. The minimum and maximum ages of the participants were 21 and 52 years, respectively, with a median age of 33 (27–40) years. The mean STAI-S and STAI-T scores of healthcare professionals included in the study were 45.4 ± 10.4 and 41.3 ± 7.3, respectively. The effect of women nurses and having children, on anxiety levels was found to be significantly high. Comparing the groups categorized for their compliance with COVID-19-related measures, the state anxiety scores of the “somewhat compliant” group were found to be higher. Participants with the perception that measures taken and institution’s available capacity were insufficient were found to have statistically significantly higher STAI-S scores than the others (p < 0.001) Conclusion: Maintaining mental health of healthcare personnel during a pandemic is vital to better control contagious diseases. Thus, exclusive effort should be made to maintain mental well-being of healthcare professionals being exposed to COVID-19.
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