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Annals of Intensive Care
Published in: Annals of Intensive Care 1/2021

01-12-2021 | COVID-19 | Research

Mental health and stress among ICU healthcare professionals in France according to intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic

Authors: Alexandra Laurent, Alicia Fournier, Florent Lheureux, Guillaume Louis, Saad Nseir, Gwenaelle Jacq, Cyril Goulenok, Grégoire Muller, Julio Badie, Bélaïd Bouhemad, Marjolaine Georges, Paul-Michel Mertes, Hamid Merdji, Vincent Castelain, Caroline Abdulmalak, Olivier Lesieur, Gaëtan Plantefeve, Jean-Claude Lacherade, Jean-Philippe Rigaud, Nicholas Sedillot, Damien Roux, Nicolas Terzi, Pascal Beuret, Antoine Monsel, Anne-Laure Poujol, Khaldoun Kuteifan, Thierry Vanderlinden, Anne Renault, Bérengère Vivet, Christophe Vinsonneau, Saber Davide Barbar, Gilles Capellier, Jean Dellamonica, Stephan Ehrmann, Thomas Rimmelé, Julien Bohé, Pierre Bouju, Sébastien Gibot, Bruno Lévy, Johanna Temime, Cyrille Pichot, David Schnell, Diane Friedman, Pierre Asfar, Eddy Lebas, Philippe Mateu, Kada Klouche, Juliette Audibert, Fiona Ecarnot, Nicolas Meunier-Beillard, Mélanie Loiseau, Irène François-Pursell, Christine Binquet, Jean-Pierre Quenot, PsyCOVID-ICU Trial Investigators and the CRICS TRIGGERSEP Group (Clinical Research in Intensive Care and Sepsis Trial Group for Global Evaluation and Research in Sepsis)

Published in: Annals of Intensive Care | Issue 1/2021

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Abstract

Background

We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on mental health of professionals working in the intensive care unit (ICU) according to the intensity of the epidemic in France.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey was conducted in 77 French hospitals from April 22 to May 13 2020. All ICU frontline healthcare workers were eligible. The primary endpoint was the mental health, assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Sources of stress during the crisis were assessed using the Perceived Stressors in Intensive Care Units (PS-ICU) scale. Epidemic intensity was defined as high or low for each region based on publicly available data from Santé Publique France. Effects were assessed using linear mixed models, moderation and mediation analyses.

Results

In total, 2643 health professionals participated; 64.36% in high-intensity zones. Professionals in areas with greater epidemic intensity were at higher risk of mental health issues (p < 0.001), and higher levels of overall perceived stress (p < 0.001), compared to low-intensity zones. Factors associated with higher overall perceived stress were female sex (B = 0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.08–0.17), having a relative at risk of COVID-19 (B = 0.14; 95%-CI = 0.09–0.18) and working in high-intensity zones (B = 0.11; 95%-CI = 0.02–0.20). Perceived stress mediated the impact of the crisis context on mental health (B = 0.23, 95%-CI = 0.05, 0.41) and the impact of stress on mental health was moderated by positive thinking, b = − 0.32, 95% CI = − 0.54, − 0.11.

Conclusion

COVID-19 negatively impacted the mental health of ICU professionals. Professionals working in zones where the epidemic was of high intensity were significantly more affected, with higher levels of perceived stress. This study is supported by a grant from the French Ministry of Health (PHRC-COVID 2020).
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Metadata
Title
Mental health and stress among ICU healthcare professionals in France according to intensity of the COVID-19 epidemic
Authors
Alexandra Laurent
Alicia Fournier
Florent Lheureux
Guillaume Louis
Saad Nseir
Gwenaelle Jacq
Cyril Goulenok
Grégoire Muller
Julio Badie
Bélaïd Bouhemad
Marjolaine Georges
Paul-Michel Mertes
Hamid Merdji
Vincent Castelain
Caroline Abdulmalak
Olivier Lesieur
Gaëtan Plantefeve
Jean-Claude Lacherade
Jean-Philippe Rigaud
Nicholas Sedillot
Damien Roux
Nicolas Terzi
Pascal Beuret
Antoine Monsel
Anne-Laure Poujol
Khaldoun Kuteifan
Thierry Vanderlinden
Anne Renault
Bérengère Vivet
Christophe Vinsonneau
Saber Davide Barbar
Gilles Capellier
Jean Dellamonica
Stephan Ehrmann
Thomas Rimmelé
Julien Bohé
Pierre Bouju
Sébastien Gibot
Bruno Lévy
Johanna Temime
Cyrille Pichot
David Schnell
Diane Friedman
Pierre Asfar
Eddy Lebas
Philippe Mateu
Kada Klouche
Juliette Audibert
Fiona Ecarnot
Nicolas Meunier-Beillard
Mélanie Loiseau
Irène François-Pursell
Christine Binquet
Jean-Pierre Quenot
PsyCOVID-ICU Trial Investigators and the CRICS TRIGGERSEP Group (Clinical Research in Intensive Care and Sepsis Trial Group for Global Evaluation and Research in Sepsis)
Publication date
01-12-2021
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Keyword
COVID-19
Published in
Annals of Intensive Care / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 2110-5820
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13613-021-00880-y

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