Anxiety and depression among nurses in COVID and non‐COVID intensive care units

Objective: After onset of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the risk for exposure or having the disease is increased among healthcare providers involved in the treatment of the disease. There are reports of healthcare providers died due to COVID-19 disease who became ill during work. This resulted in psychological distress in healthcare providers. In this study, we aimed to investigate anxiety in healthcare providers working at intensive care units, considered as an area at highest risk, and to confirm social psychological factors among healthcare providers working in hospitals. Materials and Methods: The study included 106 healthcare providers working in intensive care unit who accepted participation to the survey. The healthcare providers responded to survey were stratified into 2 groups as those working in pandemic intensive care unit (pandemic group; n=55) and those working in remaining intensive care units (others; n=51). The relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and levels of anxiety and depression was evaluated using State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Results: In our study, it was found that STAI anxiety scores were higher in healthcare providers working in pandemic intensive care unit during COVID-19 outbreak (p<0.05). In the pandemic group, anxiety scores were significantly higher in male healthcare providers when compared to female healthcare providers (p>0.05). However, it was seen that healthcare providers with work experience of 1-10 years had higher mean anxiety level in STAI-II scale. It was also seen that anxiety score was significantly higher in those with work experience of 1-10 years when compared to those work experience of 11-20 years or ≥21 years (p<0.05). Work setting, male gender, experience of intensive care and concerns about outbreak were identified as factors associated to anxiety. Conclusion: Our study showed that STAI anxiety scores were higher in healthcare providers working in pandemic ICU during COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 period has led psychological problems in healthcare providers working in ICU. It is important to provide psychological support and information, and to monitor psychological status in healthcare providers.

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Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among Mothers of Newborns Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Gaza Strip

Edelweiss Psychiatry Open Access ◽

10.33805/2638-8073.109 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 10-14

Author(s):

Motasem Salah ◽

Rania Breaka ◽

Areefa Alkasseh

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Length Of Stay ◽

Intensive Care Units ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Family Income ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Gaza Strip ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care Units ◽

Anxiety And Depression

Objective: To determine the prevalence and level of anxiety and depression among mothers of newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units in Gaza Strip. Methods: It is a cross-sectional study including 195 mothers who’s their neonates has been admitted to NICU at the three governmental hospitals in Gaza Strip between November 2017 to September 2018. Two psychological tests were applied, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory. Collected data include sociodemographic profile for mother and neonates who include characteristic of mothers, number and types of deliveries, level of education, work status and family income. In addition, characteristics of neonates, gender, gestational age and birth weight, cause of admission and length of stay. Results: The results of our study indicated that 50.8% of mothers have severe to very severe symptoms of anxiety, 38.5% of mothers have severe to very severe symptoms of depression. There was a statistically significant differences in levels of anxiety (p = 0.044) and levels of depression (p = 0.005) among mothers related to hospital. The mothers of preterm and low birth weight babies had higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.010, 0.026), but there were insignificant differences in levels of depression, while there were no insignificant differences in levels of anxiety and depression among mothers related to gender of neonate, cause of admission, and length of stay in NICU. Conclusion: The effect of different maternal and neonatal factors on levels of anxiety and depression were examined and most of them revealed insignificant differences, which means that admission to NICU as a stressful event caused elevation in levels of anxiety and depression among mothers regardless of any other factors.

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