Effect of Perception of Stage in Time Course of the Pandemic on the Emotional Health of ICU Workers

First Author(s)

• 

  Robyn Branca, PhD,

  Assistant Professor Carson Newman University
  n/a
  Knoxville, Tennessee

  Disclosure information not submitted.

  Slides

Co-Author(s)

• PB

  Paul Branca, MD

  Clinical Associate Professor
  University of Tennessee Medical Center
  Knoxville, Tennessee

  Disclosure information not submitted.

Title: Effect of Perception of Stage in Time-Course of the Pandemic on the Emotional Health of ICU Workers

INTRODUCTION/HYPOTHESIS: Recent studies have shown that healthcare workers directly engaged with COVID-19 patients and those with pre-existing psychological problems were at increased risk of anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. It is not known whether these symptoms are anticipatory or reactive. This study examines the influence that the perception of the course in time of the pandemic (early, middle, late) has on ICU professionals’ mental health. We hypothesize that those workers who perceive that they were at the beginning of the pandemic would have higher anticipatory anxiety, but those who perceived they were toward the end would have higher reactive depression and somatization symptoms.

Methods: On April 7, 2020, an email survey was sent to the members of SCCM with a reminder email one week later to those who hadn’t yet responded. Collected information included demographic data, perception of caseload and point in the time course of the pandemic, and responses to psychological instruments assessing depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and symptom somatization (PHQ-15).

Results: ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc analysis of the 939 responses showed no significant difference between respondent’s perception of their stage in the time course of the pandemic (early, middle, toward the end) and levels of depression (PHQ-9) or anxiety (GAD-7); however, those who believed they were near the end of the pandemic had significantly fewer somatic symptoms (PHQ-15) than those who believed they were early or mid (p< 0.05)

Discussion: Perception of stage in the time course of the pandemic did not influence the presence of depression or anxiety but did lead to improved somatization symptoms for those who felt they were at the end of the pandemic. These results suggest that reactive depression and anxiety abate more slowly than somatic symptoms during a pandemic. Psychological interventions for the ICU professional should start in the earliest stages of a pandemic and persist throughout the course.