The relationship between post-traumatic stress and positive mental health symptoms among health workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy, Italy.
J Affect Disord
; 280(Pt B): 1-6, 2021 02 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-922020
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing health workers (HW) worldwide to extreme burden and risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This problem emerged in Lombardy, the Italian region where the pandemic exacted the heaviest toll. Study aims were to assess mental health of HW in Lombardy after the peak of COVID-19 related hospitalizations, through the joint evaluation of PTSD and positive mental health; and to explore the potential role of positive mental health in PTSD development.METHODS:
HW completed an online survey including demographic and work-related information; PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Mental Health Continuum Short-Form. Analyses comprised calculation of percentages of participants meeting a provisional PTSD and mental health diagnosis (flourishing, moderate, languishing); a binary logistic regression with demographics, work-related features, and positive mental health as predictors, and provisional PTSD diagnosis as outcome.RESULTS:
Out of 653 participants, 39.8% received a provisional PTSD diagnosis; 33.4% reported flourishing, 57.7% moderate, and 8.9% languishing mental health. Regression analysis highlighted that women vs. men, nurses vs. technical/rehabilitation HW, frontline vs. second-line workers and languishing vs. moderately mentally healthy HW were more likely to receive a provisional PTSD diagnosis, whereas flourishing participants were more likely not to receive it. No role emerged for job seniority.LIMITATIONS:
Self-reported PTSD scores, stress symptoms related to COVID-19 considered as a global stressor, cross-sectional study design.CONCLUSIONS:
Findings suggest the potential usefulness of supporting vulnerable HW categories during massive disease outbreaks through emergency-focused professional training and psychological intervention addressing both positive mental health promotion and PTSD prevention.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Mental Health
/
Health Personnel
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
J Affect Disord
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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