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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1475107
This article is part of the Research Topic The Interplay of Stress, Health, and Well-being: Unraveling the Psychological and Physiological Processes - Volume II View all 15 articles

Evaluation of the Mental Health Status of Intensive Care Unit Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of COVID-19 Pandemic

Provisionally accepted
Ceren Meriç Özgündüz Ceren Meriç Özgündüz 1,2*Murat Bıçakçıoğlu Murat Bıçakçıoğlu 3Ayse Sahin Tutak Ayse Sahin Tutak 4Arman Özgündüz Arman Özgündüz 5
  • 1 Koç University, Istanbul, Türkiye
  • 2 Acibadem Maslak Hospital, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Türkiye
  • 3 Faculty of Medicine, İnönü University, Malatya, Malatya, Türkiye
  • 4 Medical School, Adiyaman University, Adıyaman, Adıyaman, Türkiye
  • 5 Basaksehir Cam ve Sakura City Hospital, İstanbul, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: During pandemic periods, mental health issues are highly prevalent, particularly among healthcare workers who are at a higher risk of developing psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study is to to evaluate the mental health status of the intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare workers, who play a vital role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of the quality of sleep, levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms, stress and to determine the factors that affect their mental health. Method: The research was conducted in April 2020 and incorporated a total of 79 participants working in an university hospital ICUs in Turkey. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 42 (DASS-42), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were applied. Results: Among the participants, 58 individuals comprising 73.4% of the cohort were working in the ICUs, managing patients infected with COVID-19. Those working in ICUs with COVID-19 (+) patients had significantly higher DASS-S, BAI, and BDI scores. Doctors' BDI scores were significantly lower compared to both nurses and other healthcare workers. Participants exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms manifested significantly higher BAI scores in compared to those without such symptoms. Conclusion: Healthcare workers involved in ICUs with COVID-19 (+) patients were more significantly affected psychologically, doctors had lower depressive symptoms as compared to other healthcare workers. In addition, individuals with COVID-19 symptoms demonstrated significantly higher levels of anxiety. The findings of our study emphasize the significance of providing psychological support to healthcare workers throughout pandemics.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Mental Health, Depression, Anxiety, stress, sleep quality, Healthcare workers, Intensive Care Unit

    Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Meriç Özgündüz, Bıçakçıoğlu, Sahin Tutak and Özgündüz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ceren Meriç Özgündüz, Koç University, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.