Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Iranian Healthcare Workers Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic

Aims: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological disorder affecting a person directly or indirectly that may appear as a threat to physical security, death or death threat, natural disasters, war, etc. The purpose of this study was to assess post-traumatic stress disorder in Iranian healthcare workers dealing with COVID-19. Instrument Methods: The present study was conducted cross-sectional and online, from 5 May to 23 August 2020, on 418 Iranian healthcare workers, including (physicians, nurse laboratory technicians, health workers, administrative staff, and radiologists). Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire through the Porsline site by convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA in SPSS 16 software. Findings: Most participants in the study (40.4%) were in the age group of 30 to 39 years. Out of 286 individuals who had reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, the majority were women (73.1%) and married (71.3%). Among the healthcare workers with post-traumatic stress disorder, 16% had mild, 14.8% had moderate, 37.6% had severe symptoms, and 31.6% were asymptomatic. Post-traumatic stress disorder had a statistically significant relationship to gender, type of employment, smoking, a history of specific diseases, the probability of coronavirus exposure, and a history of contact with a COVID-19 patient (p 0.05). Conclusion: Two-thirds of healthcare workers had some degree of post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to the professional and vital importance and role of this group in health systems and communities, providing appropriate psychological solutions and techniques and tailored interventions to promote the physical and mental health of healthcare workers must be considered in priority.