Investigation and Analysis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Coping Style of Health-care Workers after Fighting COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Introduction: The global spread of COVID-19 is occurring at an alarming rate. Nevertheless, there appears to be insufficient attention directed towards the mental state of frontline health-care workers along with provision of appropriate interventions. The purpose of this study is to assess the levels of post-traumatic psychological stress among healthcare workers and to provide a foundation for hospital administrators to develop pertinent psychological intervention strategies.Method: For this study, a network questionnaire was administered to 249 health-care workers from 5 hospitals in Wuhan, China who had experienced outbreaks of COVID-19. The questionnaire contained items pertaining to the participants' baseline demographic characteristics, the Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version and coping style questionnaire.Results: The positive rate of PTSD was 8.03%. Female (p = 0.006), non-only-child family (p = 0.006), suspected or confirmed with COVID-19 (p = 0.005), and general current physical condition (p < 0.001) associated with higher Post-traumatic stress disorder ChecklistCivilian Version score. The primary coping mechanisms for psychological disorders encompassed problem-solving and seeking external assistance.Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of psychological stress disorder in health-care workers who had experienced outbreaks of COVID-19, which can be attributed to the negative coping styles. In order to mitigate the incidence of psychological stress disorder in a timely manner, it is imperative to highlight the mental well-being of healthcare workers and implement effective interventions.