TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among healthcare workers in ear-nose-throat clinics
AU - Walvik, Lena
AU - Brejnebøl, Maiken Wissing
AU - Ravn, Andreas Tomaas
AU - Jensen, Ramon Gordon
AU - Christensen, Anders Korsgaard
AU - von Buchwald, Christian
N1 - Articles published in the DMJ are “open access”. This means that the articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
PY - 2021/5/11
Y1 - 2021/5/11
N2 - INTRODUCTION: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was established that otorhinolaryngologists were at a high risk of contracting the infection due to examinations of the upper airways. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among healthcare workers (HCWs) in primary ear-nose-throat (ENT) practices.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study among HCWs assessing symptoms of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ten-item scale) and depression (Patients Health Questionnaire, nine-item scale). The survey targeted otolaryngologists and staff in primary private practices in the Capital Region of Denmark during the COVID-19 lock-down in May 2020.RESULTS: For 30% of the participants, signs were observed of depressive symptoms and 13% had signs of anxiety symptoms. Seventy percent felt sufficiently protected by their available personal protective equipment. Fifty-two percent worried about becoming infected in relation to their work and 56% feared infecting their families.CONCLUSIONS: HCWs in Danish primary ENT practices did not display extraordinary stress reactions during the first wave of the pandemic. Noticeably, participants were concerned about acquiring the infection or transmitting it to their household.FUNDING: none.TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.
AB - INTRODUCTION: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was established that otorhinolaryngologists were at a high risk of contracting the infection due to examinations of the upper airways. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among healthcare workers (HCWs) in primary ear-nose-throat (ENT) practices.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study among HCWs assessing symptoms of anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ten-item scale) and depression (Patients Health Questionnaire, nine-item scale). The survey targeted otolaryngologists and staff in primary private practices in the Capital Region of Denmark during the COVID-19 lock-down in May 2020.RESULTS: For 30% of the participants, signs were observed of depressive symptoms and 13% had signs of anxiety symptoms. Seventy percent felt sufficiently protected by their available personal protective equipment. Fifty-two percent worried about becoming infected in relation to their work and 56% feared infecting their families.CONCLUSIONS: HCWs in Danish primary ENT practices did not display extraordinary stress reactions during the first wave of the pandemic. Noticeably, participants were concerned about acquiring the infection or transmitting it to their household.FUNDING: none.TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.
KW - Administrative Personnel/psychology
KW - Ambulatory Care Facilities
KW - Anxiety/etiology
KW - COVID-19/psychology
KW - Cross-Sectional Studies
KW - Depression/etiology
KW - Female
KW - Health Personnel/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mental Health
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Nurses/psychology
KW - Otolaryngologists/psychology
KW - Otolaryngology
KW - Personal Protective Equipment
KW - Private Practice
KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107458591&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34060459
SN - 1603-9629
VL - 68
JO - Danish Medical Journal
JF - Danish Medical Journal
IS - 6
M1 - A01210073
ER -