Habib Mahiya, Palachi Aaron, Korman Melissa B, Steinberg Rosalie, Cocco Claudia, Martin-Doto Catherine, Tuka Andrea, Cao Xingshan, Sinyor Mark, Ellis Janet
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada.
Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jul 23;13(15):1785. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13151785.
Healthcare workers (HCW) have increased the risk of occupational stress injuries and adverse mental health outcomes, which were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding HCW psychological distress patterns and help-seeking behaviors can inform responsive resource development that may mitigate negative outcomes in future crises. This paper provides insights on monthly trends in HCW distress and support utilization at a large Canadian hospital over a 14-month period. As part of a hospital-wide wellness initiative during COVID-19, the STEADY program emailed monthly confidential wellness assessments to hospital staff from April 2020 to May 2021. The assessments included screens for burnout, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress, types of support accessed, and demographic information. Repeated cross-sectional data were summarized as monthly proportions and examined alongside longitudinal COVID-19 data. A total of 2498 wellness assessments were submitted (M = ~168 monthly, range: 17-945). Overall, 67% of assessments had at least one positive screen for distress. Average positive screens were 44% for anxiety, 29% for depression, 31% for posttraumatic stress, and 53% for burnout. Despite high distress, most respondents used informal supports (e.g., family/friends), highlighting limited formal support use. HCWs experienced sustained high levels of psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, with burnout remaining a predominant and persistent concern. The limited use of formal support services may indicate barriers to accessing these types of supports. Our findings underscore the need for accessible and acceptable mental health supports for HCW during prolonged crises.
医护人员职业性应激损伤和不良心理健康后果的风险有所增加，在新冠疫情期间这种情况更加恶化。了解医护人员的心理困扰模式和求助行为可以为有针对性的资源开发提供信息，这可能会减轻未来危机中的负面后果。本文提供了一家大型加拿大医院在14个月期间医护人员困扰及支持利用情况的月度趋势洞察。作为新冠疫情期间全医院健康倡议的一部分，“稳定”项目在2020年4月至2021年5月期间每月通过电子邮件向医院工作人员发送保密的健康评估。评估内容包括职业倦怠、焦虑、抑郁和创伤后应激障碍筛查、获得的支持类型以及人口统计学信息。重复的横断面数据汇总为月度比例，并与新冠疫情的纵向数据一起进行分析。共提交了2498份健康评估（平均每月约168份，范围：17 - 945份）。总体而言，67%的评估至少有一项困扰筛查呈阳性。焦虑的平均阳性筛查率为44%，抑郁为29%，创伤后应激障碍为31%，职业倦怠为53%。尽管困扰程度很高，但大多数受访者使用的是非正式支持（如家人/朋友），这突出表明正式支持的使用有限。在新冠疫情期间，医护人员经历了持续的高水平心理困扰，职业倦怠仍然是一个主要且持续存在的问题。正式支持服务的使用有限可能表明获取这类支持存在障碍。我们的研究结果强调了在长期危机期间为医护人员提供可及且可接受的心理健康支持的必要性。
