Psychological impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the operating room paramedical staff

ABSTRACT

Introduction: the recent covid19 pandemic is not devoid of psychological risks on paramedical staff. Among them, those who work in the operating theaters are exposed to such risks. Objective(s) to determine the perceived stress level and the psychological impact of COVID-19 on paramedics in the operating room. Method(s) This is an observational, descriptive and analytical study carried out in the operating rooms of Sahloul University Hospital during a 3 month period. The data collection tool was a selfadministered questionnaire composed of 5 main parts (sociodemographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, exposure to COVID-19, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Hospital Anxiety and depression scale (HADS)). Result(s) 96 paramedical staff participated in our study. The average perceived stress score was significantly higher among anesthetists. 48% of participants had anxiety. Anesthetists had significantly higher anxiety scores (p = 0.001). 26.1% of participants had definite depression. Of those with definite depression, 35.3% were anesthetists (p = 0.028). Factors significantly associated with the occurrence of anxiety were psychiatric history, increased workload, contact with a positive coronavirus patient in the operating room, and severe perceived stress. However, the factors significantly associated with the occurrence of depression were initial training in the management of covid-19 patients, personal infection with SARS-COV2 and severe perceived stress. Conclusion(s) Covid-19 pandemic is causing significant symptoms of anxiety and depression among operation room staff. Primary and secondary prevention strategies must then be undertaken.