Comparison of hospital worker anxiety in COVID-19 treating and non-treating hospitals in the same city during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Abstract Background The Hadassah Medical Organization operates two hospitals in Jerusalem. During the COVID-19 pandemic it made an administrative decision to operate one hospital as a COVID-19 treatment hospital (CTH) and to have the second function as a non-COVID-19 treating hospital (NCTH) offering general medical services. The purpose of this study was to assess how this decision affected hospital worker anxiety. Methods From April 27 to May 1, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, while the country was under lock-down, an electronic questionnaire survey was carried out among hospital workers of the CTH and NCTH. The questionnaire includes personal demographics and attitudes about COVID-19 and assesses present anxiety state using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI-S) validated questionnaire. A STAI-S score of ≥45 was considered to represent clinical anxiety. Results Completed questionnaires were received from 1570 hospital employees (24%). 33.5% of responders had STAI-S scores ≥45. Multivariable regression analysis showed that being a resident doctor (odds ration [OR] 2.13; 95% CL, 1.41–3.23; P = 0.0003), age ≤ 50 (OR, 2.08; 95% Cl, 1.62–2.67; P < .0001), being a nurse (OR, 1.29; 95% CL, 1.01–1.64; P = 0.039), female gender (OR, 1.63; 95% CL, 1.25–2.13; P = 0.0003) and having risk factors for COVID-19 (OR, 1.51; 95% CL, 1.19–1.91; P = 0.0007), but not hospital workplace (p = 0.08), were associated with the presence of clinical anxiety. 69% of the responders had been tested for COVID-19, but only nine were positive. CTH workers estimated that the likelihood of their already being infected with COVID-19 to be 21.5 ± 24.7% as compared to the 15.3 ± 19.5% estimate of NCTH workers (p = 0.0001). 50% (545/1099) of the CTH workers and 51% (168/330) of the NCTH workers responded that the most important cause of their stress was a fear of infecting their families (p = 0.7). Conclusions By multivariable analysis the creation of a NCTH during the COVID-19 pandemic was not found to be associated with a decrease in the number of hospital workers with clinical anxiety. Hospital worker support resources can be focused on the at-risk groups identified in this study.