McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Homewood Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(1):2171751. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2171751.
Healthcare professionals (HCPs) appear to be at increased risk for negative psychological outcomes [e.g. depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral distress] and associated impacts on functioning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. HCPs working on designated COVID-19 units may be further impacted than their colleagues not on these units given added demands of patient care and risk of contracting COVID-19. Little is known, however, about the mental health and functioning of specific professional groups beyond nurses and physicians, including respiratory therapists (RTs), over the course of the pandemic. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to characterize the mental health and functioning of Canadian RTs and compare profiles between RTs working on and off designated COVID-19 units. Canadian RTs completed an online survey between February and June 2021, including demographic information (e.g. age, sex, gender,) and measures of depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, moral distress and functional impairment. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses and between-groups comparisons were conducted to characterize RTs and compare profiles between those on and off COVID-19 units. Two hundred and eighteen ( = 218) RTs participated in this study. The estimated response rate was relatively low (6.2%) Approximately half of the sample endorsed clinically relevant symptoms of depression (52%), anxiety (51%) and stress (54%) and one in three (33%) screened positively for potential PTSD. All symptoms correlated positively with functional impairment ('s < .05). RTs working on COVID-19 units reported significantly greater patient-related moral distress compared to those not on these units ( < .05). Moral distress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD were prevalent among Canadian RTs and were associated with functional impacts. These results must be interpreted with caution given a low response rate, yet raise concern regarding the long-term impacts of pandemic service among RTs.
医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）似乎在整个 COVID-19 大流行期间面临着负面心理后果（例如抑郁、焦虑、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）、道德困境）的风险增加，并对其功能产生影响。与不在这些单位工作的同事相比，在指定 COVID-19 病房工作的 HCPs 可能会受到更大的影响，因为他们需要额外照顾患者，并且有感染 COVID-19 的风险。然而，在大流行期间，除了护士和医生之外，很少有人了解特定专业群体（包括呼吸治疗师（RTs））的心理健康和功能。因此，本研究的目的是描述加拿大 RTs 的心理健康和功能，并比较在指定 COVID-19 病房工作和不工作的 RTs 的特征。加拿大 RTs 于 2021 年 2 月至 6 月期间完成了一项在线调查，包括人口统计学信息（例如年龄、性别、）以及抑郁、焦虑、压力、PTSD、道德困境和功能障碍的测量。采用描述性统计、相关分析和组间比较来描述 RTs，并比较 COVID-19 病房内外的 RTs 的特征。共有 218 名（=218）RTs 参与了这项研究。估计的响应率相对较低（6.2%）。大约一半的样本表示有临床相关的抑郁症状（52%）、焦虑症状（51%）和压力症状（54%），三分之一（33%）的人可能患有 PTSD。所有症状与功能障碍呈正相关（'s <.05）。在 COVID-19 病房工作的 RTs 报告的与患者相关的道德困境明显高于不在这些病房工作的 RTs（ <.05）。道德困境以及抑郁、焦虑、压力和 PTSD 的症状在加拿大 RTs 中很普遍，并且与功能影响有关。考虑到响应率较低，这些结果必须谨慎解释，但它们引起了人们对 RTs 在大流行期间服务的长期影响的关注。
