Psychological impact of healthcare workers in China during COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic: A multi-center cross-sectional survey investigation
Open accessAbstract
Background Since the outbreak of 2019 new coronavirus (COVID-19) pneumonia, healthcare workers (HCW) have suffered psychological stress. The present study is to examine the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression of HCW in China during the COVID-19 epidemic, and to determine the risk factors predicting psychological morbidities that can be used as psychological intervention targets. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the psychological levels of HCW in multiple centers in China. The prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression were determined by using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) and Hospital Anxiety / Depression scale (HAD). Psychology related factors were evaluated and correlation between job title and contact history was analyzed. Results We received 958 of effective responses, 73.6% of which were from Wuhan and 67.2% were female participants. 55.1% of respondents had psychological stress that is higher than that of HCW during SARS. 54.2% and 58% of participants had symptoms of anxiety and depression. Stress levels of HCW were different in job titles and years of work experience. Anxiety and depression levels were different between different gender, job titles, degrees of protective measures and levels of contact history. Gender, intermediate title, protective measures and contact history were the independent risk factors for anxiety. Protective measures and contact history were the independent risk factors for depression. Conclusions The COVID-19 epidemic has induced stress levels for HCW, and high percentages of HCW have anxiety and depression. The situation of HCW is worrying and intervention service is urgent.
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Studies have found increased levels of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress in healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In addition to the physical risks, these studies have found increased levels of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and distress in healthcare professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic (Lai et al., 2020; Xiao et al., 2020; J. Zhang et al., 2020).”
From Beyond the physical risk: Psychosocial impact and coping in healthcare professionals during the COVID‐19 pandemic. (2025) · cites this paper as Xiao et al., 2020
The Discussion (Prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression; page unavailable) reports elevated anxiety, depression, and stress among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Stress supports the claim’s reference to distress, but our copy does not report insomnia or sleep outcomes, so Xiao et al. does not support that part of the sentence. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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- Authors
- Xiao, X., Zhu, X., Fu, S., Hu, Y., Li, X., & Xiao, J.
- Affiliations
- Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University (CN)
- Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xiao, Xiao
- Li, Xiaoning
- Xiao, Jinsong
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 274
- Pages
- 405-410
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7236675
- OpenAlex
- W3024530475
- Cited by
- 303
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 98 · 2021: 106 · 2020: 29
- FWCI
- 26.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Keywords
- healthcare workers, COVID-19 pandemic, psychological stress, anxiety, depression, risk factors, protective measures, contact history, job titles, gender differences, psychological intervention, Wuhan
- MeSH terms
- Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Attitude of Health Personnel, China, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pneumonia, Viral, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Stress, Psychological, Comorbidity, Causality, Prevalence, Coronavirus Infections, Young Adult, Pandemics
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