Dep. of Occupational Therapy, Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518, USA. Tel 203-582-8204.
J Allied Health. 2023 Fall;52(3):234-238.
Previous research during novel disease outbreaks shows mental health amongst frontline healthcare workers to be of concern. Currently, there are limited data regarding mental health of rehabilitation professionals working through the COVID-19 pandemic in the acute care setting. This research examines the impact on mental health amongst rehabilitation professionals working in the acute care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic to better understand what administrative policies can be implemented to support workers.
The study administered a 22-question online survey to 221 occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists working in acute care/hospital settings. Data collection occurred over 30 days in late 2021. Data were analyzed using chi-squared analysis and t-test of means to identify significant differences between demographic variables and reported emotional health outcomes.
Those of higher age reported higher frequencies of depression and anxiety symptoms and fatigue (p >0.05). Professionals with higher COVID-19 contact hours had higher emotional distress and suicidal thoughts (p >0.05). Compared to certified occupational therapy assistants and physical therapy assistants, evaluating therapists had significantly higher reports of lifestyle impacts (p >0.05).
These finding serve as considerations for management decisions for rehabilitation professionals during future disease outbreaks. Targeted support must be shown to employees of older age and evaluating therapists. This shows that administrators must consider implementing more equal spread of patient contact to avoid serious impacts.
以往在新发疾病爆发期间的研究表明，一线医护人员的心理健康令人担忧。目前，关于在急性护理环境中工作的康复专业人员在 COVID-19 大流行期间的心理健康的数据有限。这项研究考察了 COVID-19 大流行期间在急性护理环境中工作的康复专业人员的心理健康所受到的影响，以便更好地了解可以实施哪些行政政策来支持工作人员。
该研究向 221 名在急性护理/医院环境中工作的职业治疗师、物理治疗师和言语治疗师发放了一份 22 个问题的在线调查。数据收集于 2021 年末的 30 天内进行。使用卡方分析和 t 检验均值来分析数据，以确定人口统计学变量与报告的情绪健康结果之间的显著差异。
年龄较大的人报告抑郁和焦虑症状以及疲劳的频率更高（p >0.05）。COVID-19 接触时间较长的专业人员情绪困扰和自杀念头更高（p >0.05）。与认证的职业治疗助理和物理治疗助理相比，评估治疗师的生活方式影响报告明显更高（p >0.05）。
这些发现为康复专业人员在未来疾病爆发期间的管理决策提供了参考。必须向年龄较大的员工和评估治疗师提供有针对性的支持。这表明，管理人员必须考虑更公平地分配患者接触，以避免严重影响。
