Abstract
BackgroundIn the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare providers who are engaged in the direct diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients face a high risk of infection yet receive inadequate protection from contamination and minimal support to cope with overwork, frustration, and exhaustion. These problems have created significant psychological and mental health concerns for frontline healthcare providers. This study aimed to compare the levels of vicarious traumatization between frontline and non-frontline healthcare providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodologyAll the subjects who met the inclusion criteria were recruited for this comparative cross-sectional study, which was conducted from May to July 2020 in two hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire, namely, the Malay-version Vicarious Traumatization Questionnaire and the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey were utilized. A descriptive analysis, independent t-test, and analysis of covariance were performed using SPSS Statistics version 26.ResultsA total of 160 frontline and 146 non-frontline healthcare providers were recruited. Vicarious traumatization was significantly higher among the non-frontline healthcare providers (estimated marginal mean [95% CI]: 79.7 [75.12, 84.30]) compared to the frontline healthcare providers (estimated marginal mean [95% CI]: 74.3 [68.26, 80.37]) after adjusting for sex, duration of employment, and social support.ConclusionThe level of vicarious traumatization was higher among non-frontline compared to frontline healthcare providers. However, the level of severity may differ from person to person, depending on how they handle their physical, psychological, and mental health. Hence, support from various resources, such as colleagues, family, the general public, and the government, may play an essential role in the mental health of healthcare providers.
Highlights
Vicarious traumatization was significantly higher among the non-frontline healthcare providers compared to the frontline healthcare providers after adjusting for sex, duration of employment, and social support
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had spread across the world and declared (COVID-19) a global pandemic [1, 2]
This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare providers who were managing patients with suspected COVID-19 and those diagnosed with COVID-19 between May and July 2020 in two hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia
Summary
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization confirmed that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had spread across the world and declared (COVID-19) a global pandemic [1, 2]. In addition to the increased workload due to the shortage of staff to care for COVID-19 patients, frontline healthcare providers have faced the possibility of being exposed to and infected with COVID-19 [6]. In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare providers who are engaged in the direct diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients face a high risk of infection yet receive inadequate protection from contamination and minimal support to cope with overwork, frustration, and exhaustion. These problems have created significant psychological and mental health concerns for frontline healthcare providers. This study aimed to compare the levels of vicarious traumatization between frontline and non-frontline healthcare providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
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