Post-Graduate Program "Health and Environmental Factors", Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Acta Med Acad. 2021 Aug;50(2):252-263. doi: 10.5644/ama2006-124.341.
The present study aims to evaluate the symptoms of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Greek primary healthcare workers, correlating them with their individual characteristics.
The research is based on a self-report questionnaire distributed to primary HCWs of Thessaloniki's public health care units. A sample of 143 respondents was gathered. The questionnaire consists of 21 items: 6 demographic questions, 9 on personal distress, 5 on work-related distress and 1 on one dominant feeling of the participants. These items were based on existing validated measures, such as the "Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21", the "Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10", "General Health Questionnaire- 28" and "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale". The associations between participants' gender, education, specialty and parenthood were determined with Pearson's chi-squared (χ2) test.
Overall, 70.4% of HCWs were generally affected by the pandemic. The personal distress factors revealed that the majority (67%) experienced distress due to routine changes. The effects on health behavior (sleep, eating behavior and substance use) were not high. Psychological/psychiatric needs were relatively low, while negative emotions and need of social support were high. 31.4% displayed intense emotional instability. All work-related distress factors were rated high. Worry about contracting COVID-19 in the workplace scored the highest (82.6%). Almost half of the participants felt exposed to COVID-19 infection (47.0%). Anxiety (47.2%) and burn-out (78.4%) symptoms were also revealed. Female participants appeared to be more anxious (P<0.01) and upset (P=0.013).
The exposure to a constant risk could potentially lead to an increase in HCWs' psychological distress. Designing the right tools and organizing the right plans are of paramount importance to prevent the deterioration of their wellness and quality of life.
本研究旨在评估 COVID-19 大流行期间希腊初级保健工作者的心理困扰症状，并将其与个体特征相关联。
本研究基于向塞萨洛尼基公共卫生保健单位的初级 HCW 分发的自我报告问卷。共收集了 143 名受访者的样本。问卷由 21 个项目组成：6 个人口统计学问题、9 个个人困扰问题、5 个工作相关困扰问题和 1 个参与者的主要感受问题。这些项目基于现有的经过验证的测量方法，如“抑郁焦虑压力量表-21”、“凯斯勒心理困扰量表-10”、“一般健康问卷-28”和“医院焦虑和抑郁量表”。使用 Pearson 卡方（χ2）检验确定参与者的性别、教育、专业和父母身份之间的关联。
总体而言，70.4%的 HCW 普遍受到大流行的影响。个人困扰因素表明，大多数人（67%）因常规变化而感到困扰。对健康行为（睡眠、饮食行为和物质使用）的影响不高。心理/精神病学需求相对较低，而负面情绪和社会支持需求较高。31.4%的人表现出强烈的情绪不稳定。所有工作相关困扰因素的评分都很高。对在工作场所感染 COVID-19 的担忧得分最高（82.6%）。几乎一半的参与者感到有感染 COVID-19 的风险（47.0%）。焦虑（47.2%）和倦怠（78.4%）症状也显露出来。女性参与者似乎更焦虑（P<0.01）和不安（P=0.013）。
持续面临风险可能会导致 HCW 的心理困扰增加。设计正确的工具和组织适当的计划至关重要，以防止他们的健康和生活质量恶化。
