Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Sharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Int J Public Health. 2021 Nov 11;66:1604369. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604369. eCollection 2021.
Providing medical care during a global pandemic exposes healthcare workers (HCW) to a high level of risk, causing anxiety and stress. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety and psychological distress among HCWs during COVID-19. We invited HCWs from 3 hospitals across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in an anonymous online survey between April 19-May 3, 2020. The GAD-7 and K10 measures were used to assess anxiety and psychological distress. Logistic regression models assessed associations between knowledge, attitude, worry, and levels of anxiety and psychological distress. A total of 481 HCWs participated in this study. The majority of HCWs were female (73.6%) and aged 25-34 years (52.6%). More than half were nurses (55.7%) and had good knowledge of COVID-19 (86.3%). Over a third (37%) of HCWs reported moderate/severe psychological distress in the K10 measure and moderate/severe anxiety (32.3%) in the GAD-7, with frontline workers significantly reporting higher levels of anxiety (36%). Knowledge of COVID-19 did not predict anxiety and psychological distress, however, HCWs who believed COVID-19 was difficult to treat and those who perceived they were at high risk of infection had worse mental health outcomes. Worry about spreading COVID-19 to family, being isolated, contracting COVID-19 and feeling stigmatized had 1.8- to 2.5-fold increased odds of symptoms of mental health problems. Additionally, HCWs who felt the need for psychological support through their workplace showed increased odds of psychological distress. HCWs in the UAE reported a high prevalence of psychological distress and anxiety while responding to the challenges of COVID-19. The findings from this study emphasize the public, emotional and mental health burden of COVID-19 and highlight the importance for health systems to implement, monitor, and update preventive policies to protect HCWs from contracting the virus while also providing psychological support in the workplace.
在全球大流行期间，医疗保健工作者（HCW）面临着高度的风险，导致焦虑和压力。本研究旨在评估 COVID-19 期间 HCW 焦虑和心理困扰的发生率。我们邀请了来自阿联酋 3 家医院的 HCW 参加 2020 年 4 月 19 日至 5 月 3 日的匿名在线调查。使用 GAD-7 和 K10 措施评估焦虑和心理困扰。Logistic 回归模型评估了知识、态度、担忧与焦虑和心理困扰水平之间的关联。共有 481 名 HCW 参与了这项研究。大多数 HCW 为女性（73.6%），年龄在 25-34 岁（52.6%）。超过一半的 HCW 是护士（55.7%），对 COVID-19 的了解良好（86.3%）。超过三分之一（37%）的 HCW 在 K10 测量中报告中度/重度心理困扰，32.3%在 GAD-7 中报告中度/重度焦虑，一线工作人员焦虑水平显著升高（36%）。对 COVID-19 的了解并不能预测焦虑和心理困扰，然而，那些认为 COVID-19 难以治疗和那些认为自己感染风险高的 HCW 心理健康状况更差。担心将 COVID-19 传播给家人、被隔离、感染 COVID-19 和感到被污名化，使心理健康问题的症状增加 1.8-2.5 倍。此外，那些觉得需要通过工作场所获得心理支持的 HCW，出现心理困扰的几率增加。阿联酋的 HCW 在应对 COVID-19 挑战时报告了较高的心理困扰和焦虑发生率。这项研究的结果强调了 COVID-19 的公共、情感和心理健康负担，并强调了卫生系统实施、监测和更新预防政策的重要性，以保护 HCW 免受病毒感染，同时在工作场所提供心理支持。
