The psychological effects of COVID-19 on hospital workers at the beginning of the outbreak with a large disease cluster on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

• Main Authors: Keiko Ide, Takeshi Asami, Akira Suda, Asuka Yoshimi, Junichi Fujita, Munetaka Nomoto, Tomohide Roppongi, Kousuke Hino, Yuichi Takahashi, Kaori Watanabe, Tomoko Shimada, Toyoko Hamasaki, Emi Endo, Tomoko Kaneko, Michiko Suzuki, Kazumi Kubota, Yusuke Saigusa, Hideaki Kato, Toshinari Odawara, Hideaki Nakajima, Ichiro Takeuchi, Takahisa Goto, Michiko Aihara, Akitoyo Hishimoto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245294

The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and associated factors on hospital workers at the beginning of the outbreak with a large disease cluster on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. This cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic data, mental health measurements, and stress-related questionnaires from workers in 2 hospitals in Yokohama, Japan, from March 23, 2020, to April 6, 2020. The prevalence rates of general psychological distress and event-related distress were assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the 22-item Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), respectively. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the 26-item stress-related questionnaires. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes for workers both at high- and low-risk for infection of COVID-19. A questionnaire was distributed to 4133 hospital workers, and 2697 (65.3%) valid questionnaires were used for analyses. Overall, 536 (20.0%) were high-risk workers, 944 (35.0%) of all hospital workers showed general distress, and 189 (7.0%) demonstrated event-related distress. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that 'Feeling of being isolated and discriminated' was associated with both the general and event-related distress for both the high- and low-risk workers. In this survey, not only high-risk workers but also low-risk workers in the hospitals admitting COVID-19 patients reported experiencing psychological distress at the beginning of the outbreak.