The psychological effects of COVID-19 on hospital workers at the beginning of the outbreak with a large disease cluster on the Diamond Princess cruise ship

PLoS One. 2021 Jan 11;16(1):e0245294. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245294. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated factors on hospital workers at the beginning of the outbreak with a large disease cluster on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. This cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic data, mental health measurements, and stress-related questionnaires from workers in 2 hospitals in Yokohama, Japan, from March 23, 2020, to April 6, 2020. The prevalence rates of general psychological distress and event-related distress were assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the 22-item Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), respectively. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the 26-item stress-related questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes for workers both at high- and low-risk for infection of COVID-19. A questionnaire was distributed to 4133 hospital workers, and 2697 (65.3%) valid questionnaires were used for analyses. Overall, 536 (20.0%) were high-risk workers, 944 (35.0%) of all hospital workers showed general distress, and 189 (7.0%) demonstrated event-related distress. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that 'Feeling of being isolated and discriminated' was associated with both the general and event-related distress for both the high- and low-risk workers. In this survey, not only high-risk workers but also low-risk workers in the hospitals admitting COVID-19 patients reported experiencing psychological distress at the beginning of the outbreak.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Disease Hotspot*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Health
  • Middle Aged
  • Personnel, Hospital / psychology*
  • Psychological Distress*
  • Ships
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 17H04249 (A.H.), and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 17K10313(T.A.) of Japan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.