Akira Kuriyama, MD, MPH, PhD, , FCCM
Director
Kurashiki Central Hospitai
Kameoka Kyoto, Japan
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: Anxiety, depression, and burnout in critical care professionals in Japan in the COVID-19 pandemic
Learning objectives: Japan faces the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as of August 2021, and the number of COVID-19 patients has increased with each wave. We conducted a multi-center cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and burnout in critical care professionals in Japan.
Methods: We conducted a web-based survey of healthcare workers (HCWs) working in 14 ICUs from 14 prefectures where the COVID-19 pandemic was prominent (March 9 – 31). We used Generalized Anxiety Disorder- 7, the Patient Health Questionnaire- 9, and the single-item Mini-Z Burnout Assessment to assess anxiety, depression, and burnout, respectively. We estimated predictors of each symptom using multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models.
Results: Among 1205 HCWs, 867 responded (response rate: 72.0%); 309 HCWs (35.6%) had treated more than 20 patients. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout were reported in 14.6% (95% CI, 12.4- 17.2%), 20.6% (95% CI, 18.0- 23.5), and 24.7% (95% CI, 21.5- 27.3) of the respondents, respectively. Predictors of such symptoms included respondent characteristics (nurse), perceptions toward the working environment (personal protective equipment and communications with supervisors and colleagues), self-perceptions (fear of becoming infected or of infecting family), self-quarantine, and stigmatization toward the HCWs and/or their family members. A total of 367 HCWs (42.3%) was considering quitting the job responsibility in the ICUs, while 790 (91.1%) felt the need for recognition of their work.
Conclusions: Critical care professionals in Japan experience psychological burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. A hospital-level material and psychological support and as well as recognition of ‘critical care’ by society are needed to ensure well-being of critical care professionals.