Equan, Tammy W. Examining the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health Status of Respiratory Therapists. 2023. Radford University, Doctoral Capstone Project. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
As of December 2021, 800,000 Americans had died from COVID-19, a rate higher than the population of North Dakota (Abraham & Mazumder, 2021). Healthcare workers, including respiratory therapists (RTs) who have spent significant time with COVID-19-positive patients, may be highly vulnerable to ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and at risk of other mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and other conditions (Blake et al., 2020; DePierro et al., 2020). At baseline, HCWs experienced a considerable risk of adverse mental health outcomes because of the characteristics of their job (Serdà et al., 2021; Preti et al., 2020). Exacerbations of mental distress among HCWs included anxiety (12–45%), depression (20–51%), PTSD (19–51%), psychological distress (37%), acute stress disorder (31%), burnout (29%), sleep disturbance (4–37%), and combined mental disorders (34%; Uphoff et al., 2021). The exhaustion and stress from the COVID-19 pandemic are reflected in the mental health status of RTs, affecting patient care and their family life. This project aimed to focus on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the mental health status and potential risk factors of front-line workers, specifically RTs. Objectives: The objective was to examine factors of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health status of respiratory therapists, the roles of depression, stress, anxiety, self-efficacy, and the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder. Methodology: This study utilized the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21), the Impact of Event Scale with Modifications for COVID-19 (IES-COVID19), and the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSE) to collect both survey response data and primary demographic data from degree-seeking RT students at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and working RTs licensed in North Carolina by the North Carolina Respiratory Care Board. Results: Of the 338 surveys emailed to licensed RTs, 61 were received with a response rate of 18%. After working during the pandemic, 61% (42) of participants reported suffering from ailments related to depression and anxiety. Depression was reported to be experienced occasionally by participants at a rate of 59.5%, anxiety was experienced weekly at a rate of 40.5%, and stress was experienced weekly at a rate of 33.3% and daily at a rate of 38.1%. The DASS-21 results for stress showed a mean of 13.8 (95% CI), with a minimum score of 7, a maximum score of 28, and an SD of 5.15. The group’s characteristics for anxiety showed a mean of 10.73 (95% CI) with a minimum score of 7, a maximum of 21, and an SD of 3.69. Attributes for the group showed a mean of 11.46 on the depression subscale (95% CI) with a low score of 7, a high score of 27, and an SD of 4.7. The RTs who participated in this study reported stress on the high side of normal, mild depression, and severe anxiety levels. Conclusions: Spearman’s rho was significant in correlating depression to anxiety and stress (p < .001) and anxiety to depression (p< .001). The IES-COVID19 score of 30 was also significant and suggested a powerful impact on RTs from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results concluded that the DASS-21 anxiety and stress subscales correlated significantly with the IES-COVID19 at a (p < .001). There was no relationship between self-efficacy scores and the IES-COVID19 scores among the sample group. The RTs who participated in this study reported stress in the higher limits of normal, with some in the severe category, mild depression on average with reported severe levels, and moderate levels of anxiety. Also reported was a high level of self-efficacy with a mean score of 33.2. Keywords: Respiratory therapists, mental health status, COVID-19, pandemic, front-line healthcare workers
| Item Type: | Doctoral Capstone Project |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > R Medicine (General) |
| Divisions: | Radford University > Waldron College of Health and Human Services > Health Sciences Program |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2024 16:02 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Mar 2024 16:02 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/1098 |
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