@article{2996907,
    title = "Hospital workforce mental reaction to the pandemic in a low COVID-19 burden setting: a cross-sectional clinical study",
    author = "Alexopoulos, P. and Roukas, D. and Efkarpidis, A. and Konstantopoulou, G. and Soldatos, R. and Karaivazoglou, K. and Kontogianni, E. and Assimakopoulos, K. and Iliou, T. and Εconomou, P. and Gourzis, P. and Politis, A.",
    journal = "European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience",
    year = "2022",
    volume = "272",
    number = "1",
    pages = "95-105",
    publisher = "Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH",
    issn = "0940-1334, 1433-8491",
    doi = "10.1007/s00406-021-01262-y",
    keywords = "anxiety;  cross-sectional study;  depression;  hospital personnel;  human;  pandemic;  psychology;  questionnaire;  therapy, Anxiety;  COVID-19;  Cross-Sectional Studies;  Depression;  Humans;  Pandemics;  Personnel, Hospital;  Surveys and Questionnaires",
    abstract = "ΤheCOVID-19 pandemic has mental health implications for both healthcare workforces and general population, particularly in regions heavily hit by the crisis. Τhe study aimed (i) to investigate anxiety- and depression severity differences between staff of a COVID-19 treatment unit (N = 84) and a hospital without such a unit (N = 55) in comparison to participants of a convenience general population online survey (N = 240) and (ii) to explore relations between such symptoms and hospital staff reaction to COVID-19 in a low COVID-19 burden setting. Anxiety was studied with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item in hospital workforces and with the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) in online survey participants. Depression symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 in hospital employees and the HADS in the online survey sample. Symptoms were classified as absent/minimal, borderline abnormal or indicating clinical caseness. Staff reaction to COVID-19 was tapped with a 9-item-questionnaire and the 22-item Impact of Event Scale-revised (IES-R). Proper tests for differences and stepwise ordered logistic regression models were employed. Anxiety- and depression severity was higher in hospital workforces than in online survey participants (P < 0.05). Anxiety was more severe in frontline- compared to backstage employees (P < 0.001) was inversely correlated with age (P = 0.011) and positively with avoidance (P = 0.028). Both anxiety and depression symptoms related to intrusion symptoms (P < 0.001). Regarding the relatively long data collection period, an inverse association between crisis duration and depression symptoms was detected (P = 0.025). These observations point to the urgent need for distress-mitigating interventions for hospital workforces even in low COVID-19 burden settings. © 2021, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature."
}