AUTHOR=Yin YuanYuan , Han Sizhu , Guan Jiaoqiong , Wang DuanWei , Wang HaiRong , Yuan Ti-Fei , Yang Ying 

TITLE=Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among healthcare workers during the Omicron era

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1140511

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1140511

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant psychological stress among healthcare workers. This study aimed to clarify the factors that influenced health workers’ posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.</p></sec><sec><title>Method</title><p>A total of 443 healthcare workers from eight Mental Health Centers in Shandong were recruited to attend an online survey. Participants completed self-evaluation measures of exposure to the COVID-19 environment and PTSD symptoms, as well as measures of potential protective factors such as euthymia and perceived social support.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>About 45.37% of healthcare workers had severe symptoms of PTSD symptoms. Healthcare workers with more serious PTSD symptoms were significantly related to higher exposure to COVID-19 (<italic>r</italic> = 0.177, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), as well as lower levels of euthymia (<italic>r</italic> = −0.287, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and perceived social support (<italic>r</italic> = −0.236, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The structural equation model (SEM) further revealed that the impact of exposure to COVID-19 on PTSD symptoms was partially mediated by euthymia, and moderated by perceived social support, especially from others (e.g., friends, leaders, relatives and colleagues).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>These findings suggested that improving the state of euthymia, getting social support from others could alleviate PTSD symptoms among healthcare workers during the COVID-19.</p></sec>