Mental Health Outcomes in Healthcare Workers During COVID-19

November 2, 2020 updated by: Rima Styra, University Health Network, Toronto

Hearing and Supporting the Healthcare Workers: Mental Health Outcomes in Healthcare Workers During COVID-19

An online survey will be sent to healthcare workers (HCWs) in acute care hospitals to explore a variety of risk factors for negative psychological outcomes and levels of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms using validated scales. It is important to understand the sources of negative psychological impact on HCWs during this COVID-19 pandemic before hospitals and organizations can address and develop support programs to mitigate the stresses experienced by healthcare workers. Addressing and supporting the needs of our HCWs will be paramount in this COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Previous work conducted by our group during the 2003 SARS outbreak demonstrated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in healthcare workers (HCWs) working in high-risk areas. Similar reports are emerging with regards to HCWs during COVID-19 which may affect staff mental health outcomes which may have effects on staff absenteeism and retention.

The study is a cross-sectional, multi-centered, hospital-based online survey conducted at several Toronto hospitals. Participants will be recruited to participate in the voluntary study via an internal e-mail that will contain a short description of the study and a link to the online survey. The survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. The study group will include HCW s from high-risk units (Emergency, ICU, and COVID-19 units) with a comparison group of HCWs who are not directly involved in the assessment or management of patients with COVID-19.

This study will evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCW's and identify risk factors that may place HCWs at greater risk for negative psychological outcomes. The survey will gather information such as s basic, non-identifying demographic information, hospital and unit of work, quarantine and isolation, work with patients diagnosed with COVID-19, loss of loved ones to COVID-19, understanding of the reasons for PPE/ infection control directives, perceptions of risk to self and family, sources of support. As well, Toronto is in the unique situation of having been at the centre of the 2003 Canadian SARS outbreak and presently experiencing the impact of the COVID-19. The investigators propose that COVID-19 might have a differential impact on the psychological wellbeing of current HCWs depending on whether they practiced during SARS. Our survey will explore the differences of the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers who lived through the SARS outbreak and those who did not. The following validated scales are embedded in the survey to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID pandemic: Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7) , and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Open-ended questions will also provide respondents the opportunity to relate aspects of working during the COVID-19 pandemic that are most difficult and to provide additional comments on their unique experiences.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

3852

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 2C4
        • University Health Network

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study group will include all HCWs working within the hospital system. This will include HCWs from high-risk units such as Emergency, ICU, and COVID-19 units as well as HCWs who are not directly involved in the assessment or management of patients with COVID-19.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

HCW currently working at Toronto based hospitals: University Health Network (UHN), Sunnybrook Health Sciences and William Osler Health System.

Exclusion Criteria: Not a healthcare worker

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R)
Time Frame: Two weeks
Scale to evaluate Post-traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms
Two weeks
General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)
Time Frame: Two weeks
Scale to evaluate anxiety symptoms
Two weeks
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: Two weeks
Scale to evaluate depressive symptoms
Two weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Qualitative Data
Time Frame: Two weeks
Qualitative data will be coded and analyzed to show emerging themes.
Two weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Health Network, Toronto

Collaborators

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
University of Toronto
William Osler Health System

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Rima Styra, MD, MEd, University Health Network, Toronto

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

May 14, 2020

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

July 3, 2020

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

July 3, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 19, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2020

First Posted (ACTUAL)

May 21, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

November 3, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 2, 2020

Last Verified

November 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 3189

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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