• Sunčana Vlah Tomičević and LangValerija BralićVB0000-0002-9142-1569Private Family Physician Office, Department of Family Medicine, Zagreb University School of Medicine, School of Public Health 'Andrija Štampar', Zagreb, Croatia..
• Health Centre Zagreb - East, Zagreb, Croatia.
• Eur J Gen Pract. 2021 Dec 1; 27 (1): 184190184-190.

BackgroundHealthcare professionals (HCPs) in family medicine (FM) in Croatia work in a demanding environment caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Besides particular circumstances in healthcare, an unknown virus, social distancing, and homeschooling, the capital was hit with the earthquake during the lockdown.ObjectivesTo assess the prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the influence of demographic characteristics, professional differences, medical history, and specific stressors on the psychological outcomes.MethodsA cross-sectional study with the online questionnaire containing the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was conducted from 1st to 15 May 2020 in FM.ResultsHCPs (534, 35% response rate), predominantly female (84.5%), participated in the research. High prevalence of stress (30.9%), anxiety (33.1%), depression (30.7%), and PTSD (33.0%) were found. Female participants had higher results in the anxiety subscale of DASS-21 and IES-R scores. Pre-existing conditions were associated with higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. The IES-R score for PTSD showed borderline correlation (p = 0.053) with working in regions with the highest incidence of COVID-19. Having schoolchildren made a difference on a stress subscale in DASS-21 (p < 0.043), but the earthquake did not have an impact.ConclusionFamily physicians and nurses in FM in Croatia are under a great mental load during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results suggest that HCPs of the female sex, with pre-existing chronic conditions, work in regions with a high incidence of SARS-CoV-2 or have schoolchildren at greater risk of the poor psychological outcome.

48 keywords...

hide…