Prevalence, Incidence, and Factors Associated with Posttraumatic Stress at Three-Month Follow-Up among New York City Healthcare Workers after the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ari Shechter, Codruta Chiuzan, Yimeng Shang, Gavin Ko, Franchesca Diaz, Hadiah K. Venner, Kaitlin Shaw, Diane E. Cannone, Cara L. McMurry, Alexandra M. Sullivan, Reynaldo R. Rivera, Courtney Vose, Peter A. Shapiro and Marwah Abdalla
Additional contact information
Ari Shechter: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Codruta Chiuzan: Institute of Health System Science, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Northwell Health, New York, NY 10022, USA
Yimeng Shang: Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
Gavin Ko: Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
Franchesca Diaz: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Hadiah K. Venner: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Kaitlin Shaw: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Diane E. Cannone: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Cara L. McMurry: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Alexandra M. Sullivan: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Reynaldo R. Rivera: New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10032, USA
Courtney Vose: New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY 10032, USA
Peter A. Shapiro: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
Marwah Abdalla: Department of Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Prevalence, incidence, and factors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at follow-up among healthcare workers after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown. Methods: A web survey invitation was sent to healthcare worker listservs at a NYC medical center (April, 2020). The Primary Care (PC)-PTSD questionnaire was used to screen for PTSD symptoms at baseline and then every 2 weeks for 10 weeks. Incidence and prevalence of PTSD symptoms were determined at each time point. Multivariable generalized estimating equation models were performed to investigate the factors associated with a positive PC-PTSD screen at follow-up. Results: Median age (interquartile range) of N = 230 participants was 36 (31–48) years; 79.6% were women; 82.6% worked in COVID-19-focused settings. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms decreased from 55.2% at baseline to 25.0% at 10 weeks ( p < 0.001). Among participants who had a baseline negative screen for PTSD symptoms, the incidence of PTSD at 10 weeks was 12.2% (p-trend 0.034). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, being a nurse (odds ratio [OR]: 1.70, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06–2.71), female (OR: 3.00, 95% CI: 1.59, 5.72), and working in a COVID-19-focused location (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.21) were associated with increased odds of PTSD symptoms at 10-weeks. Conclusions: PTSD symptoms improved over 3 months following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one out of four NYC healthcare workers still had an increased risk for PTSD at 10-weeks. Screening healthcare workers for PTSD symptoms should be considered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: healthcare worker; acute stress; posttraumatic stress; COVID-19; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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