Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2021 Jun 4;16(6):e0252603. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252603. eCollection 2021.
In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare providers who are engaged in the direct diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients face a high risk of infection yet receive inadequate protection from contamination and minimal support to cope with overwork, frustration, and exhaustion. These problems have created significant psychological and mental health concerns for frontline healthcare providers. This study aimed to compare the levels of vicarious traumatization between frontline and non-frontline healthcare providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All the subjects who met the inclusion criteria were recruited for this comparative cross-sectional study, which was conducted from May to July 2020 in two hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire, namely, the Malay-version Vicarious Traumatization Questionnaire and the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey were utilized. A descriptive analysis, independent t-test, and analysis of covariance were performed using SPSS Statistics version 26.
A total of 160 frontline and 146 non-frontline healthcare providers were recruited. Vicarious traumatization was significantly higher among the non-frontline healthcare providers (estimated marginal mean [95% CI]: 79.7 [75.12, 84.30]) compared to the frontline healthcare providers (estimated marginal mean [95% CI]: 74.3 [68.26, 80.37]) after adjusting for sex, duration of employment, and social support.
The level of vicarious traumatization was higher among non-frontline compared to frontline healthcare providers. However, the level of severity may differ from person to person, depending on how they handle their physical, psychological, and mental health. Hence, support from various resources, such as colleagues, family, the general public, and the government, may play an essential role in the mental health of healthcare providers.
在抗击 COVID-19 大流行的过程中，直接参与诊断、治疗和护理患者的一线医护人员面临着高感染风险，但他们受到的污染防护不足，且在应对过度劳累、挫折和疲惫方面得到的支持很少。这些问题给一线医护人员带来了严重的心理和精神健康问题。本研究旨在比较应对 COVID-19 大流行时一线和非一线医护人员的替代性创伤水平。
所有符合纳入标准的受试者均被招募到这项在马来西亚吉兰丹州两家医院进行的比较性横断面研究中，研究时间为 2020 年 5 月至 7 月。采用自我管理问卷，即马来语版替代性创伤问卷和医疗结局研究社会支持调查进行研究。使用 SPSS Statistics 版本 26 进行描述性分析、独立 t 检验和协方差分析。
共招募了 160 名一线和 146 名非一线医护人员。调整性别、工作年限和社会支持后，非一线医护人员的替代性创伤显著高于一线医护人员（估计边缘均值[95%CI]：79.7[75.12,84.30]）。
与一线医护人员相比，非一线医护人员的替代性创伤水平更高。然而，严重程度可能因人而异，这取决于他们如何处理自己的身体、心理和精神健康。因此，来自同事、家庭、公众和政府等各种资源的支持可能在医护人员的心理健康中发挥重要作用。
