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Concerns and psychological well-being of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in New South Wales.
Naqvi, Syeda Shaher Bano; Davis, Joshua; Pickles, Robert W; Loewenthal, Mark R.
  • Naqvi SSB; Infectious Diseases Department, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Davis J; School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Pickles RW; Infectious Diseases Department, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
  • Loewenthal MR; School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Intern Med J ; 51(9): 1407-1413, 2021 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1429798
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

In early 2020, the impending COVID-19 pandemic placed a once-in-a-generation professional and personal challenge on healthcare workers. Publications on direct physical disease abound. The authors wanted to focus on doctors' psychological well-being.

AIMS:

To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on doctors' well-being and evaluate their concerns as the pandemic progressed.

METHODS:

A mixed-methods, hospital-based survey was sent to doctors at the 650-bed tertiary referral hospital in NSW at two different periods (late-March and early May 2020). A validated mental well-being tool (Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS)) was combined with COVID-19-specific questions.

RESULTS:

Two hundred and thirty-five responses were obtained from 450 doctors, with a response rate of 32% in the first survey and 20% in the second. The majority (35%) of respondents were doctors-in-training, followed by staff-specialists (23%). The highest response was from frontline workers in both surveys, including the intensive care unit (27%), anaesthesia (21%) and emergency department (13%). 'Extreme concern' regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage dropped from 22.6% to 2.2% and 'extreme concern' of contracting COVID-19 fell from 22.6% to 3.4% in the second survey. The proportion of respondents with a 'low' psychological well-being score improved from 38% to 27% between the two surveys. The resulting mean improvement in the SWEMWBS was 3.49 (95% confidence interval = 3.06-3.91, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION:

Both COVID-19 specific concerns and psychological well-being improved greatly in the second survey. Possible explanations are the fall in COVID-19 cases in the district, improvements in PPE supply and supportive measures communicated to doctors during this period.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Oceania Language: English Journal: Intern Med J Journal subject: Internal Medicine Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Imj.15465

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study Limits: Humans Country/Region as subject: Oceania Language: English Journal: Intern Med J Journal subject: Internal Medicine Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Imj.15465