ABSTRACT
What is already known about this topic?: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses a significant threat to mental health globally and may change the proportion of hospitalized patients. What is added by this report?: This report analyzed and compared the disease characteristics of psychiatric inpatients one year before and after Wuhan lifted lockdown during COVID-19. About 50% of the inpatients were diagnosed with bipolar disorder; females and adolescents had a higher prevalence of mental disorders. What are the implications for public health practice?: More attention should be paid to the mental health of children, adolescents, and females.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has broken out and even spread globally. The healthcare system worldwide faces enormous challenges, and nurses are at the highest risk as one of the leading forces. It's worth paying attention to nurses' anxiety and job burnout. This study aimed to investigate nurses' levels of burnout and anxiety during the epidemic of COVID-19 and to analyze influencing factors of burnout. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 19 to 25 February 2020. Questionnaires such as the basic information questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used among 1011 nurses in Wuhan tertiary hospitals via the online survey. The final number of valid questionnaires was 885. The effective response rate was 87.5%. RESULTS: The average score of MBI-GS was 11.50, 6.02, 24.47, respectively. The average score for state anxiety was 45.52 and trait anxiety, 43.78. Anxiety was positively associated with emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and negatively related to personal accomplishment. The protective factors of burnout were personnel agency, five years or less work experience, living in hospital dormitory, Wuhan medical team, working time exceeding 9 h, and the best knowledge of COVID-19. The absence of siblings, median job title, working in isolation wards, three or more night shifts per week, living in hotels, and being surrounded by confirmed or suspected medical staff were all negative factors. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses had high anxiety levels during the COVID-19 period, but the level of burnout was mild to moderate. Managers should continue to pay attention to nurses' psychological state and related factors and intervene to stabilize the nursing team.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Health care workers, especially frontline nurses, faced great challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. AIMS: To assess the magnitude of the psychological status and associated risk factors among nurses in the pandemic center in Wuhan, China. METHODS: In this study, we enrolled nurses from Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. The questionnaire was designed to obtain basic information of the participants, and included four psychological assessment scales. We issued the questionnaires at two different points of time. We conducted the first survey on January 29 to February 2 (outbreak period) with 709 eligible responses, and the second survey on February 26 to February 28 (stable period) with 621 eligible responses. The nurses from Wuchang Fangcang shelter hospital were also enrolled in the second survey. RESULTS: During the pandemic, over one-third of nurses suffered from depression, anxiety, and insomnia. In the outbreak period, the nurses showed significantly higher risks for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than those in the stable period (P < 0.01). Notably, the nurses from the Fangcang shelter hospitals were more likely to present psychological problems than those from other frontline or non-frontline (all P < 0.001) units, especially for insomnia (38.3% with severe insomnia). The nurses from the frontline, with worse physical condition and uncertain concerns about this pandemic as compared to the others, were more likely to bear psychological problems. Thus, online psychological information and sufficient protection conditions were effective interventions to help mitigate psychological distress. The nurses from Fangcang shelter hospitals suffered a significantly higher risk of psychological problems than those from other units. CONCLUSION: The psychological status of nurses needs more attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those who fought in the frontline during the peak of the outbreak.