ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has caused an exceptional situation in our country's healthcare system. Healthcare workers could become the second victims as consequence of this pandemic circumstances, such as: the huge work overload that healthcare workers have been exposed to, the excessive emotional overload, the stressful situations and the fear of being infected themselves and to infect their families. The aim of this study is to know the emotional overload of workers in intensive care units during SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in a tertiary hospital in the Community of Madrid. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Descriptive cross-sectional study, carried out through the voluntary completion by workers in intensive care units of a questionnaire adapted from the Acute Stress Scale «EASE COVID-19¼, with 10 closed-ended Likert scale questions, adding four questions: sex, professional category, if they usually work in intensive care units and the sacrifice in their routines. Data were collected in July 2020, to assess the impact of the first wave. A descriptive analysis was carried out as well as an analysis of the possible links between the collected variables and the emotional response. RESULTS: Fifty-four percent of surveyed respondents showed good emotional adjustment. The major concern of the participants was the possibility of infecting their families. The highest scores by categories were observed in nurses, assistant nursing care technicians and orderlies, while 100% of doctors showed good emotional adjustment, with no differences between genders. Sixty percent of participants modified their family routine, being medical residents who got the highest percentage. CONCLUSIONS: Sanitary crisis has turned healthcare workers into second victims of SARS-CoV-2. Their detection is essential to offer them help and resources to ensure their emotional well-being, removing barriers and helping them to be strengthened.
