Psychological distress among infectious disease physicians during the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Republic of Korea

Background This study aimed to investigate psychological distress among infectious disease (ID) physicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Republic of Korea. Methods Using an online-based survey link sent via text message and email, we conducted a survey from April 21...

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Published in:BMC public health Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 1811 - 7
Main Authors: Park, Se Yoon, Kim, Bongyoung, Jung, Dong Sik, Jung, Sook In, Oh, Won Sup, Kim, Shin-Woo, Peck, Kyong Ran, Chang, Hyun-Ha
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London BioMed Central 27.11.2020
BioMed Central Ltd
Springer Nature B.V
BMC
Subjects:
Adult
Airborne infection
Analysis
Anxiety
Biostatistics
Burn out (Psychology)
Burnout
Control equipment
Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease control
Disease Outbreaks - prevention & control
Environmental Health
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Female
Human resources
Humans
Infections
Infectious Disease Medicine
Infectious diseases
Infectious diseases medicine
Job stress
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental depression
Mental health
Middle Aged
Oncology
Outbreaks
Pandemics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Patients
Personal protective equipment
Physicians
Physicians - psychology
Physicians - statistics & numerical data
Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology
Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control
Polls & surveys
Practice
Protective equipment
Psychological
Psychological aspects
Psychological Distress
Psychological stress
Public Health
Questionnaires
Republic of Korea - epidemiology
Research Article
Respiratory diseases
Short message service
South Korea
Statistical analysis
Statistics
Suffering
Vaccine
Viral diseases
Working hours
Republic of Korea
South Korea
China
COVID-19
Psychological
South Korea
Burnout
Psychological distress
Infectious diseases medicine
ISSN:1471-2458, 1471-2458
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background This study aimed to investigate psychological distress among infectious disease (ID) physicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Republic of Korea. Methods Using an online-based survey link sent via text message and email, we conducted a survey from April 21 to 25, 2020, targeting all ID physicians currently working in ID ( n  = 265). The questionnaire was based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales, and information was collected on factors protecting against psychological distress and difficulties in relation to COVID-19. Results Of 265 ID physicians, 115 (43.3%) responded, showing burnout (97, 90.4%), depression (20, 17.4%), anxiety (23, 20.0%), and stress (5, 4.3%). There were no differences in terms of distress between ID physicians who were directly involved in the care of patients with COVID-19 or not. Greater than 50% of physicians valued their work and felt recognized by others, whereas < 10% indicated that sufficient human and financial support and private time had been provided during the outbreak. The most challenging issues concerned a lack of attending physicians caring for COVID-19 patients or infection control practitioners, a shortage of personal protective equipment or airborne infection isolation rooms, pressure for research, and lack of guidelines for COVID-19 management. Conclusions During the COVID-19 outbreak in the Republic of Korea, most respondents reported psychological distress. Preparing strategies to secure human resources are crucial to prepare effectively for future epidemics and pandemics.
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ISSN:1471-2458
1471-2458
DOI:10.1186/s12889-020-09886-w