Mental Health and Quality of Life for Healthcare Workers in a University Hospital Under COVID-19

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 85 - 91
• Main Authors: Choi, Hye-Ji, Yang, Chan-Mo, Lee, Sang-Yeol, Lee, Hye-Jin, Jang, Seung-Ho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 01.02.2022; 대한신경정신의학회
• Subjects: Original; 정신과학; COVID-19; Health care workers; Mental health; Quality of life
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.30773/pi.2021.0307

The aim of this study was to assess the psychosocial characteristics of the employees working at a university hospital and investigated the factors affecting their quality of life (QOL) under COVID-19. This study enrolled 1,191 healthcare workers from a university hospital, including doctors, nurses, administrative officer and technicians. Besides demographic information, depression, anxiety, somatization, insomnia, resilience, and QOL were assessed. The nurses presented significantly higher scores for anxiety, depression and showed significantly higher insomnia scores and significantly lower resilience scores. The occupations showed significant differences in the QOL and sub-groups, including the overall quality of life and general health (F=4.774, p<0.001), psychological domain (F=6.230, p<0.001), and environment domain (F=5.254, p<0.001). There was a positive correlation between the QOL and resilience (r=0.608, p<0.01). However, depression (r=-0.502, p<0.01), anxiety (r=-0.425, p<0.01), somatization (r=-0.364, p<0.01), and insomnia (r=-0.385, p<0.01) showed negative correlations with the QOL. Resilience was the most important factor influencing the QOL. The results of this study showed that low resilience adversely affected the QOL and the mental health of the healthcare workers, which consequently had a direct effect on the quality of medical care given to patients.