The impact of workload during Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic on clinical laboratory workforce in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has placed enormous pressure on different health-care systems globally. In Saudi Arabia, the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably increased the number of infected individuals and has caused a major concern among health-care professionals, including the laboratory workforce. This study aimed to measure the impact of COVID-19 workload on clinical laboratory workforce in Riyadh. Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative study. We distributed questionnaires via E-mail invitations and social media platforms to 252 individuals. The online survey comprised eligibility, demographic, and workload-related questions as well as the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Results: A total of 123 respondents completed the questionnaire and fit the eligibility criteria. The data showed that the total workload burden remarkably increased the number of tasks among all laboratory workers by 30.0%. In addition, 44.7% of the laboratory personnel reported psychological distress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: Clinical laboratory workers reported a significant increase in workload burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Middle age and limited years of experience were found to be risk factors for psychological distress and anxiety among the laboratory workers.

Keywords

• clinical laboratory workforce
• coronavirus disease 2019
• mental distress
• pandemic
• workload