For Frontline Workers, Mental Health Risks During COVID-19 Comparable to 9/11
More than half of health care workers directly involved with COVID-19 care screened positive for at least one mental health disorder early in the pandemic, according to a study published online in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Among clinicians in the study, mental health risks were higher in the early days of COVID-19 than what was seen during previous viral outbreaks, researchers noted, and comparable to those during disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or the 9/11 attacks.
“What health care workers are experiencing is akin to domestic combat,” said study corresponding author Andrew J. Smith, PhD, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City. “Although the majority of health care professionals and emergency responders aren’t necessarily going to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, they are working under severe duress, day after day, with a lot of unknowns. Some will be susceptible to a host of stress-related mental health consequences.”
For the study, researchers conducted an online survey of 571 emergency and hospital workers, including physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians, fire fighters, and police officers, in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States from April 1, 2020, through May 7, 2020.
Some 56% of survey respondents screened positive for one or more mental health disorders, such as traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, and insomnia, according to the study. For each specific disorder, 15% to 30% of respondents screened positive; problematic alcohol use, insomnia, and depression were most common.
The study also found that direct COVID-19 exposure or being immunocompromised significantly increased the risk of acute traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. Meanwhile, risky alcohol use was reported by nearly 36% of health care workers.
“Frontline providers are exhausted, not only from the impact of the pandemic itself, but also in terms of coping day to day,” said study coauthor Charles C. Benight, PhD, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
—Jolynn Tumolo
References
