PTSD Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Study Raises Concern for Non-medical Staff in Low-Risk Areas

• Main Authors: Ruike Zhang, Tianya Hou, Xiangyu Kong, Guibin Wang, Hao Wang, Shuyu Xu, Jingzhou Xu, Jingwen He, Lei Xiao, Yajing Wang, Jing Du, Yujia Huang, Tong Su, Yunxiang Tang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Subjects: COVID-19; healthcare workers; post-traumatic stress disorder; sleep; avoidance; intrusion
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.696200/full

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of sleep quality and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms of healthcare workers (HCWs) and identify the determinants for PTSD symptoms among HCWs in high-risk and low-risk areas during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.Methods: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Impact of Event Scale were used to assess sleep quality and symptoms of PTSD of 421 Chinese HCWs, respectively, from January 30 to March 2, 2020. The influencing factors of PTSD symptoms were identified by univariate analysis and multiple regression.Results: The incidence of HCWs getting PTSD symptoms were 13.2%. HCWs from high-risk areas had significantly poorer sleep quality (p < 0.001). Poor sleep quality was the risk factor of PTSD symptoms for HCWs from high-risk (p = 0.018) and low-risk areas (p < 0.001). Furthermore, non-medical staff were found to be the risk factor for PTSD symptoms only in low-risk areas.Discussion: HCWs in Hubei had poorer sleep quality. Non-medical HCWs from low-risk areas were associated with more severe PTSD symptoms. Mental health programs should be considered for HCWs, especially those who are often overlooked.