Psychological Morbidity among Emergency Department Doctors and Nurses after the SARS Outbreak

Abstract

Objective To determine the psychological morbidity among emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses six months after the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. Methods During the SARS outbreak from 13 March to 31 May 2003, the study ED was designated as Singapore's only screening centre for SARS and was closed to all other patients. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in November 2003. Doctors and nurses of the study ED who had patient contact during the outbreak were included. Data collected were demographics and responses to (a) Impact of Event Scale (IES) and (b) General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ 28). Scores were assigned to the responses whereby an IES score ≥26/75 or a GHQ 28 score ≥5/28 was indicative of post-event and psychiatric morbidity respectively. Results Thirty-eight out of 41 (92.7%) doctors and 58 out of 83 (69.9%) nurses responded. Fewer doctors reported post-event and psychiatric morbidity compared to nurses, with 5 (13.2%) doctors and 12 (20.7%) nurses scoring ≥26 on IES, 6 (15.8%) doctors and 12 (20.7%) nurses scoring ≥5 on GHQ 28. The doctors reported a median of 9.5 (range 0–47) on IES and 0 (range 0–11) on GHQ 28. The nurses reported a median of 15 (range 0–61) on IES and 1 (range 0–25) on GHQ 28. Conclusions Six months after SARS, the rates of post-event and psychiatric morbidity were relatively low among the study ED doctors and nurses. The results might have underestimated actual morbidity as the study was conducted six months after the outbreak.