The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceived stress levels and psychological resilience of healthcare professionals

Abstract

Aim: It is aimed to contribute to the literature with the broad support of participants actively working in the field during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. This study was conducted to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceived stress levels and psychological resilience of healthcare professionals.Material and Method: A total of 856 healthcare professionals, actively working in the COVID-19 pandemic process across Turkey, participated in the research. The data in the study were collected using the “11 Demographic Questions”, the “Four-Item Perceived Stress Scale”, developed by Cohen and friends, and the “Six-Item Brief Resilience Scale”, developed by Smith and friends to measure psychological resilience levels. The statistical analysis of the study was performed by using SPSS 23. The data, which were not normally distributed, were compared using the Mann Whitney U test and the Kruskal Wallis test. Correlation between the variables was examined via Spearman’s correlation analysis and the data, which were not normally distributed, were presented as median.Results: It was found that the mean score of the perceived stress scale was 12.7±2.9 and the mean score of psychological resilience was 17.8±4.9. It was determined that there was a moderately negative significant correlation between perceived stress and psychological resilience (r:-0.542 p:<0.001).Conclusion: The results suggested that COVID-19, whose impacts have been felt globally, increased the stress level of healthcare professionals and decreased their psychological resilience.