Assessment of Anxiety and Stress Levels of Health Care Workers Who Serve in Frontlines in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Units During the Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: The spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) worldwide has caused sudden and dramatic changes in our daily routines and work lives. Healthcare workers tried to adapt to the pandemic process, protecting patients, themselves, and their families from COVID-19 infection. Our study explains the early psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare professionals working in the front line in intensive care units and operating rooms. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional type of study was conducted face-to-face with 125 medical personnel working on the front line in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) during the pandemic. The beck depression inventory and perceived stress scale were used in our study to measure the depression and stress levels of worker healthcare care. Results: 73.6% of the participants were female, 52.8% were nurses, and 28% were working in a pandemic ICU. The mean age was 34.17±7.72. Compared to the low-stress group, the high-stress group consisted of females with a statistically significantly higher frequency. Conclusion: Unfortunately, history indicates that pandemics are inevitable and that we must help each other in these difficult times. Understanding early signs of the stress factors of healthcare workers can be helpful in protecting them from posttraumatic disorder. During this period, social distancing was the key to slowing down the transmission of the virus, but it led to increased health sector employees’ increased anxiety. Understanding the early signs of healthcare workers’ signs of anxiety and depression can protect them from serious health problems such as burnout syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Keywords

• covid-19
• health workers
• stress
• anxiety