A study on mental health status among the staff in a designated hospital for COVID- 19 (preprint)

ABSTRACT

Background: We investigate the mental health status of all the staff members who worked for the designated hospital during the initial stage of COVID-19, so as to understand the severity of mental health problems, and analyze the risk factors.Methods: Through the patients health questionnaire-9(PHQ-9) and panic disorder severity scales(PDSS), we surveyed the status of depression and panic disorder of the staff who participated in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in designated hospital in the early stage of epidemic. The data is described by the number of cases (percentage), median and interquartile range. The chi square test was used for categorical variables and the rank sum test was used for continuous variables. The risk factors of severe depression or panic disorder were analyzed by binary logistic regression test.Results: Totally 702 questionnaires were sent out and 694(98.9%) was received and qualified, the median score of PHQ-9 among all the staff was 1 (IQR,0-4), 143(20.6%) of them had depression, 39 (5.6%) had serious depression; the median score of PDSS was 2 (IQR,0-5), 81 (11.7%) of them had panic disorder and 47(6.7%) of them had severe panic disorder; Among the people in different work lines, the first-line staff scored the highest PHQ-9 score was 4 (0-8); PDSS score was 4 (1-9), which were significantly higher than the second-line and third-line staff (P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the adjusted risk of severe depression in first-line staff was 6.63 fold(P < 0.001); the risk of severe panic disorder was 2.62 fold (P=0.003) higher than that of non-first line group.Conclusions: Many staff in the designated hospital for COVID-19 have mental health problems. Among them, first-line workers are a high-risk group with severe depression and panic disorder, and further psychological intervention is needed for them.