Por favor, use este identificador para citar o enlazar este ítem:https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/53265
Título
Analyzing the Impact of COVID-19 Trauma on Developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Emergency Medical Workers in Spain
Autor
Año del Documento
2021
Editorial
MDPI
Descripción
Producción Científica
Documento Fuente
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, vol. 18, 9132
Resumo
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic presented the characteristics of a traumatic event that could trigger post-traumatic stress disorder. Emergency Medical Services workers are already a high-risk group due to their professional development. The research project aimed to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on EMS professionals in terms of their mental health. For this purpose, we present a descriptive crosssectional study with survey methodology. A total of 317 EMS workers (doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians) were recruited voluntarily. Psychological distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and insomnia were assessed. The instruments were the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS-8), and the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS-8). We found that 36% of respondents had psychological distress, 30.9% potentially had PTSD, and 60.9% experienced insomnia. Years of work experience were found to be positively correlated, albeit with low effect, with the PTSD score (r = 0.133). Finally, it can be stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a traumatic event for EMS workers. The number of professionals presenting psychological distress, possible PTSD, or insomnia increased dramatically during the early phases of the pandemic. This study highlights the need for mental health disorder prevention programmes for EMS workers in the face of a pandemic.
Palabras Clave
Emergency medical services
Servicios médicos
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Estrés postraumático
Mental status
Estados mentales
Sleep disorders
Sueño, Trastornos del
COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 (Enfermedad)
ISSN
1660-4601
Revisión por pares
SI
Version del Editor
Propietario de los Derechos
© 2021 Los autores
Idioma
eng
Tipo de versión
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Derechos
openAccess
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