Artikel
Psychological burden of general practitioners due to the COVID-19 pandemic
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Autoren
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Lucas Küppers
- Institut für Hausarztmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Stefanie Kasten
- Institut für Hausarztmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Anna-Liesa Filbert
- Institut für Hausarztmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Manuela Schmidt
- Institut für Hausarztmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Kathrin Heser
- Klinik für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen und Gerontopsychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Anja Schneider
- Klinik für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen und Gerontopsychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Christine Westerteicher
- Klinik für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen und Gerontopsychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
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Birgitta Weltermann
- Institut für Hausarztmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Bonn, Deutschland
| Veröffentlicht: | 25. September 2020 |
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Gliederung
Text
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed psychological stress on the general population and to a large extent on medical personnel [1] [2]. Previous pandemics like the SARS outbreak in 2002 revealed an especially high psychological burden of healthcare professionals who where directly involved in the treatment of confirmed cases [3]. Surveys on the mental health status of frontline healthcare professionals were primarily conducted among hospital staff [4].
Research question: As general practitioners (GPs) are among the first healthcare professionals exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it is important to asses their psychological burden and needs for support.
Methods: An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed via e-mail among GPs affiliated with the University Hospital Bonn. The questionnaire mainly consisted of established standard instruments used to evaluate symptoms of psychological distress like the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), generalised anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7), peritraumatic distress inventory (PDI), insomnia severity index (ISI) and a non-standardized COVID-19 questionnaire (COVID-19-Medical-Professionals-Questionnaire-Bonn), a modified and extended version of an published questionnaire by Imai et al. [5]. Effects between the reported symptoms were examined using bivariate Pearson correlation.
Results: The participation rate was 28,95% (33 of 114). Over 50% (n=17) of the respondents were 56 years old or more. 66,7% (n=22) of the GPs reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) and 51,5% (n=17) moderate to severe signs of anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 10). GPs with depressive symptoms showed more signs of anxiety (p<.001) and insomnia (p<.001). There is a negative correlation between the age of GPs and the severity of depressive symptoms (p=.041) and insomnia (p=.002). More than 83,9% (n=26) of the respondents reported sufficient personal protective equipment at their workplace.
Discussion: Depressive symptoms were frequent among the GPs surveyed. Younger GPs were more likely to report symptoms of depression and insomnia. The symptoms of psychological distress are unlikely to be explained by a lack of protective equipment, because the majority of GPs had sufficient supplies.
Practical implication: Further research needs to address especially the mental health of young GPs challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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