Post‐traumatic stress disorder and major depression among frontline healthcare staff working during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Objectives High rates of probable post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) have been reported for frontline healthcare staff during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, rates determined by diagnostic assessment are unknown, as are the onset of symptoms and associated inde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	British journal of clinical psychology Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 859 - 866
Main Authors:	Wild, Jennifer, McKinnon, Aimee, Wilkins, Abbie, Browne, Haddi
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-09-2022 John Wiley and Sons Inc
Subjects:	Brief Report Brief Reports Clinical interviews COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology Delivery of Health Care Depression Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology Depressive personality disorders Health care health care staff Humans Medical personnel Mental depression Pandemics Post traumatic stress disorder Psychopathology Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology Workforce health care staff post-traumatic stress disorder depression
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Summary:	Objectives High rates of probable post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) have been reported for frontline healthcare staff during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, rates determined by diagnostic assessment are unknown, as are the onset of symptoms and associated index events. Methods We assessed frontline healthcare staff with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐5. Results Forty‐four percent met criteria for PTSD and 39% met criteria for MDD. Twenty‐four percent reported COVID‐19 trauma as their index event, with the majority of staff reporting trauma that pre‐dated the pandemic. While PTSD was likely to be pre‐existing, MDD was more likely to develop during pandemic working. Conclusion These findings indicate the propensity of healthcare staff to experience a range of occupational and personal trauma associated with PTSD and the need to assess index trauma when diagnosing psychopathology in order to best understand the needs of this workforce. Practitioner points We found high diagnostic rates of PTSD (44%) and major depression (39%) among frontline healthcare staff working during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Although major depression developed during the pandemic, PTSD was more likely to be pre‐existing. When assessing pandemic‐related psychopathology, it is important to assess the onset and index event related to symptoms. Healthcare workers appear to have high rates of PTSD related to occupational and personal trauma, which warrants specific focus in service planning.
Bibliography:	Correction added on 20 November 2021, after first online publication: the word “Health care” is updated to “Healthcare” throughout in this version ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0144-6657 2044-8260
DOI:	10.1111/bjc.12340