Psychological impact of COVID-19 and implementability of prevention and control measures in hemodialysis centers: A provincial questionnaire

ABSTRACT

Background: This study investigated the psychological status of patients and staff and implementabilty of prevention measures in hemodialysis centers in Guangdong Province of China during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: An electronic questionnaire survey was performed in an anonymous manner between March 28 and April 3, 2020. Two questionnaires were designed to investigate the psychological status for hemodialysis patients and general staff (doctors, nurses, technicians, and other staff), respectively. And an additional questionnaire for administrators (directors or head nurses) of hemodialysis centers was designed to address the implementabilty of prevention measures, including strengthened patient triage management, restricting caregiver visits to patients during dialysis, strengthened prevention amongst staff, and improved patient education and protection. All the 516 hemodialysis centers registered in Guangdong Province were voluntarily invited to join the survey. Results: Total 1,782 patients, 3,400 staff, and 420 administrators responded for this survey. Patients living in rural areas reported a higher incidence of severe anxiety compared to those living in other areas. Medical staff reported better mental health than non-medical staff. With respect to implementabilty of prevention measures, hemodialysis centers in general hospitals outperformed independent blood purification centers, and tertiary hospitals outperformed other level hospitals. However, restricting acceptance of non-resident patients was lower in tertiary hospitals than that in other hospitals. Under this condition, only one patient imported from Hubei Province was diagnosed with COVID-19. Conclusions: The outbreak did not significantly affect the psychological status of most patients and medical staff. Due to the successful implementation of comprehensive prevention measures, the COVID-19 epidemic was controlled effectively. This provincial survey may provide experience for other countries and regions with similar epidemic.