Abstract
Background: In the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, medical staff is the main force for aiding in the control of the rapid spread. They have to risk lives to undertake the high-pressure task which may cause immediate and long-term psychological problems. This study aims to explore the trajectories of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over time after the outbreak and determine predictors associated with each trajectory. Methods: 448 medical workers participated in the investigation and completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Self-Rating Scale (PTSD-SS) for the first PTSD screening at 1 month after the outbreak and 259 (57.81%) of them finished the second round at 12 months. According to whether the medical staff had close contact with the COVID-19 patient, participants were divided into close contact group (CC group) and non-close contact group (non-CC group). While in each group, subgroups were created based on the time-varying changes of developing PTSD. Distinct patterns of PTSD symptom trajectories were established according to the different development of PTSD in respective subgroup. Then, repeated-measure analysis of variance(ANOVA), bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine predictors for trajectory membership.Results: Four trajectories of PTSD symptoms were found both in CC and non-CC group, namely, resilience (25.28%, 45.24%, respectively), recovery (36.26%, 32.74%, respectively), chronic (16.48%, 10.71%, respectively), and delayed (21.98%, 11.31%, respectively). ANOVA revealed that PTSD scores were significantly changed through time both in CCs and non- CCs. With bivariate and multivariate analyses, several socio-demographic predictors and work experience related factors were found in the CC group, while limited ones in the non-CC group. This means that although the trajectory trends are similar between these two groups, the methods of psychological intervention may need to be treated differently. Furthermore, CC group had less resilient individuals (p=0.002) and more delayed PTSD sufferers (p=0.022) compared with non-CC medical staff, which suggest that CCs were more likely to experience PTSD course and encounter long-term psychological problems.Conclusions: A considerable number of medical personnel have long-term PTSD, both in CC group and non-CC group, which deserve public attention. Identified factors may indicate preventive and treatment interventions for medical workers with PTSD symptoms.
Prevalence and related factors of post-traumatic stress disorder among medical staff members exposed to H7N9 patients
