Abstract 15148: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Mental Distress of Health Care Providers Working in the Coronary Care Unit

Abstract

Introduction: Medical workers fighting current COVID-19 pandemic are considered facing a mental health crisis. However, there is a paucity of data regarding mental distress in those who caring non-COVIT patients. To assess the mental distress of health care provider working in a coronary care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated the changes in occupational stress before and during the pandemic based on Stress Check Program, which was conducted by Japanese government to screen for workers with high psychosocial stress in the workplace. Methods: Between January 2019 and March 2020, a total of 115 healthcare providers working in our hospital participated in the routine Stress Check Program. Of those, 30 participants working in the coronary care unit underwent a follow-up stress check between May and June 2020. The mean age of the participants was 36.3 ± 9.23 years, and 24 of them (80%) were women. We used the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, which comprises four components with a total of 57 items: psychological stressors (17 items), psychological and physiological stress reactions (29 items), social support in the workplace (9 items), and personal satisfaction (2 items). Each item was rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 to 4. Scores were expressed as mean ± SD for analysis. The changes in scores from before to during the pandemic in terms of the four components and 57 items were analyzed. Results: The mean scores before and during the pandemic for 4 components; psychological stressors, psychological and physiological stress reaction, social support in the workplace, and personal satisfaction were 2.67 ± 0.93 vs. 2.76 ± 0.95 ( p = 0.14); 1.99 ± 0.94 vs. 2.23 ± 1.01 ( p < 0.001); 2.18 ± 0.89 vs. 2.18 ± 0.83 ( p = 0.92); and 2.05 ± 0.65 vs. 2.20 ± 0.78 ( p = 0.09), respectively. Conclusion: Significant worsening during the pandemic was observed for psychological and physiological reactions without no significant change in psychological stressors, social support in the workplace, or personal satisfaction. These results may indicate that the current COVID-19 pandemic was the sole factor contributing to the worsened stress reactions in healthcare providers.