Posttraumatic stress symptoms in health-care workers treating COVID-19 crisis: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Abstract

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-COVID 19) pandemic had much impact on both physical and psychological aspects. In order to assess the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among the health-care workers (HCWs), the study has been made. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 96 HCWs. The sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, department, and designation were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed using a self-administered PTSD checklist. Results: The mean severity score of PTSD symptoms was 38.5 (12.9). There was a positive correlation between age and the severity score assessed using the PTSD checklist. There was also significant difference between the departments and total score with the P = 0.02. Conclusion: It denotes that the HCWs were in moderate level of stress in the pandemic. It also shows that, among postgraduate students as their years of experience increased, PTSD score also increased.

Keywords

• healthcare workers
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• stress