V. 3 N. 3 (2024): simul-action for elevation
Articles

Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder experienced by emergency room nurses during the COVID-19 emergency detected through the "Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health", a survey conducted in a Local Health Service in Northern Italy

Enrico Lucenti
RN, Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy
Giovanna Casella
RN, MSc., Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy, University of Parma – Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma, Italy
Federica Schiavone
RN, Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy
Maurizio Beretta
RN, Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy, University of Parma – Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma, Italy
Flavio Gheri
RN, MScN., Azienda USL Toscana Centro (Local Health Service), Florence, Italy
Mirella Gubbelini
RN, MScN., Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy
Massimo Guasconi
RN, MScN., Azienda USL di Piacenza (Local Health Service), Piacenza, Italy, University of Parma – Department of Medicine and Surgery, Parma, Italy

Pubblicato 2023-11-08 — Aggiornato il 2024-09-30

Parole chiave

  • COVID-19,
  • Depression,
  • Nurses,
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder,
  • Stress

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses are at high risk of developing a psychiatric disorder as a result of exposure to stressful and/or traumatic events experienced in the workplace. Specifically, they may develop long-term depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed nurses to stressful working conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental and physical stress on nurses who provided assistance in the Emergency Room (ER) of Piacenza Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A sample of 43 nurses working in the ER from 8 March to 3 May 2020 was enrolled. Each nurse was asked to fill in a form containing socio-demographic data and the "Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health" (SQD). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Area Vasta Emilia Nord.
Results: The SQD-D sub-scale results showed that 38 out of 43 nurses (88%) had “less likely to be depressed” and the remaining 5 (12%) had “more likely to be depressed”. Regarding the likelihood of developing PTSD, SQD-P sub-scale results, 29 nurses (67%) little possibility to be affected, 8 nurses (19%) classify themselves as moderately affected, and finally 6 nurses present as severely affected. The Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.80, for the SQD-P was 0.73 and for the SQD-D it was 0.68. The correlations between age and SQD and between years of service and SQD were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The study showed that some nurses are at high risk of developing depression or PTSD in stressful work situations such as those caused by COVID-19. These data can be used to suggest preventive measures such as psychological support.

Riferimenti bibliografici

  1. Selye H. A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature 1936;138:32.
  2. American Psychological Association. Stress Relief Is Within Reach [Internet]. 2021 [cited 22 Feb 2022]. Disponibile su: https://www.apa.org/topics/stress
  3. Geronazzo-Alman L, Eisenberg R, Shen S, Duarte CS, Musa GJ, Wicks J, et al. Cumulative exposure to work-related traumatic events and current post-traumatic stress disorder in New York City’s first responders. Compr Psychiatry 2017;74:134–43.
  4. Giorgi G, Lecca LI, Alessio F, Finstad GL, Bondanini G, Lulli LG, et al. COVID-19-related mental health effects in the workplace: A narrative review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17(21):1–22.
  5. Pappa S, Ntella V, Giannakas T, Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, Katsaounou P. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun 2020;88:901–7.
  6. Schuster M, Dwyer PA. Post-traumatic stress disorder in nurses: An integrative review. J Clin Nurs 2020;29(15-16):2769–87.
  7. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [Internet]. 2019 [cited 22 Feb 2022]. Disponibile su: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
  8. El-Hage W, Hingray C, Lemogne C, Yrondi A, Brunault P, Bienvenu T, et al. Health professionals facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: What are the mental health risks? Encephale 2020;46(3)–80.
  9. Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open 2020;3(3)–e203976.
  10. Song X, Fu W, Liu X, Luo Z, Wang R, Zhou N, et al. Mental health status of medical staff in emergency departments during the Coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic in China. Brain Behav Immun 2020;88(Cdc):60–5.
  11. Andhavarapu S, Yardi I, Bzhilyanskaya V, Lurie T, Bhinder M, Patel P, Pourmand A, Tran QK. Post-traumatic stress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Res 2022;317:114890.
  12. Carmassi C, Foghi C, Dell’Oste V, Cordone A, Bertelloni CA, Bui E, et al. PTSD symptoms in healthcare workers facing the three coronavirus outbreaks: What can we expect after the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry Res 2020;292:113312.
  13. Trumello C, Bramanti SM, Ballarotto G, Candelori C, Cerniglia L, Cimino S, et al. Psychological adjustment of healthcare workers in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic: Differences in stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, secondary trauma, and compassion satisfaction between frontline and non-frontline professionals. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17(22):1–13.
  14. Zerbini G, Ebigbo A, Reicherts P, Kunz M, Messman H. Psychosocial burden of healthcare professionals in times of COVID-19 – a survey conducted at the University Hospital Augsburg. GMS Ger Med Sci 2020;18(Cdc):1–9.
  15. Bertè R, Cassinelli D, Vignola V, Bonfanti S, Pagano S, Costa A, et al. COVID-19: The role of palliative care had to be adapted to manage this “ultra-emergency”. BMJ Opinion 2020.
  16. Poggiali E, Vercelli A, Mazzoni S, Bastoni D, Iannicelli T, Demichele E, et al. COVID-19 pandemic, Piacenza calling. The survival strategy of an Italian emergency department. Acta Biomed 2020;91(3):1–3.
  17. Poggiali E, Vercelli A, Cillis MG, Ioannilli E, Iannicelli T, Andrea M. Triage decision-making at the time of COVID-19 infection: the Piacenza strategy. Intern Emerg Med 2020;15(5):879-882.
  18. Fujii S, Kato H, Maeda K. A simple interview-format screening measure for disaster mental health: An instrument newly developed after the 1995 Great Ganshin Earthquake in Japan - The Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD). Kobe J Med Sci 2007;53(6):375–85.
  19. Valenti M, Fujii S, Kato H, Masedu F, Tiberti S, Sconci V. Validation of the Italian version of the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD) in a post-earthquake urban environment. Ann Ist Super Sanita 2013;49(1):79–85.
  20. Gliem JA, Gliem RR. Calculating, Interpreting, and Reporting Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficient for Likert-Type Scales. 2003.
  21. Simonetti V, Durante A, Ambrosca R, Arcadi P, Graziano G, Pucciarelli G, et al. Anxiety, sleep disorders and self-efficacy among nurses during COVID-19 pandemic: A large cross-sectional study. J Clin Nurs 2021;30(9–10):1360–71.
  22. Baldassini Rodriguez S, Bardacci Y, El Aoufy K, Bazzini M, Caruso C, Giusti GD, et al. Promoting and Risk Factors of Nurses’ Hardiness Levels during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from an Italian Cohort. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19(3):1523.
  23. Chidiebere Okechukwu E, Tibaldi L, la Torre G. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of nurses. Clin Ter 2020;171(5).
  24. Raudenská J, Steinerová V, Javůrková A, Urits I, Kaye AD, Viswanath O, et al. Occupational burnout syndrome and post-traumatic stress among healthcare professionals during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol 2020;34(3):553-560.
  25. Barello S, Palamenghi L, Graffigna G. Burnout and somatic symptoms among frontline healthcare professionals at the peak of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry Res 2020;290.
  26. Preti E, Di Mattei V, Perego G, Ferrari F, Mazzetti M, Taranto P, et al. The Psychological Impact of Epidemic and Pandemic Outbreaks on Healthcare Workers: Rapid Review of the Evidence. Curr Psychiatry Rep 2020;22(8):43.
  27. Di Tella M, Romeo A, Benfante A, Castelli L. Mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. J Eval Clin Pract 2020;26(6):1583–7.