Nearly half of surveyed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff are likely to meet the threshold for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe anxiety or problem drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by University College London and King’s College London researchers.
The study, published in Occupational Medicine, found substantial rates of probable mental health disorders, and thoughts of self-harm among ICU staff, particularly in nurses.
To identify the rates of probable mental health disorders in staff working in ICUs during the pandemic, an anonymised brief web-based survey comprising standardised questionnaires examining depression, anxiety symptoms, symptoms of PTSD, well-being and alcohol use was administered to staff in nine English hospitals in June and July 2020.
A total of 709 participants completed the surveys, comprising 291 (41%) doctors, 344 (49%) nurses and 74 (10%) other healthcare staff.
Over half of the cohort (59%) reported good well-being; however, 45% met the threshold for probable clinical significance on at least one of the following measures: severe depression (6%), PTSD (40%), severe anxiety (11%) or problem drinking (7%).
One in eight (13%) respondents reported frequent thoughts of being better off dead, or of self-harming in the past two weeks.
When examined by role, a significantly higher proportion of nurses (19%) than doctors (8%) or other clinical staff (10%) (χ 2 = 26.8, degrees of freedom [df] = 8, P<0.002) reported these thoughts.Although around 8% of the sample appeared to be at risk of alcohol-related difficulties, but this finding was not significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes.
Whilst further work is needed to better understand the level of clinical need among ICU staff, the results indicate the need for a national strategy to protect the mental health of ICU staff whilst they carry out their essential work during COVID-19, the researchers concluded.
