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Psychological Health of Surgeons in a Time of COVID-19: A Global Survey

Tan YQ 1 , Wang Z 1 , Yap QV 2 , Chan YH 2 , Ho RC 3 , Hamid ARAH 4 Show all authors , Landaluce-Olavarria A 5 , Pellino G 6 , Gauhar V 7 , Chand M 8 , Wroclawski ML 9 , Hameed BZ 10 , Ling SK 11 , Sengupta S 12 , Gallo G 13 , Chiu PK 14 , Tanidir Y 15 , Tallada MPV 16 , Garcia BN 17 , Colleoni R 18 , Abiddin ZAZ 19 , Campi R 20 , Esperto F 21 , Carrion D 22 , Elterman D 23 , Chung ASJ 24 , Ng ACF 14 , Moschini M 25 , Rivas JG 22 , Mayol J 26 , Teoh JY 14 , Chiong E 1 , SoMe4Surgery working group Collaborators

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Urology, National University Hospital, National University, Health System, Singapore
  • 2 Biostatistics Unit, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 3 Department of Psychological Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 4 Department of Urology, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia
  • 5 General Surgery and Digestive System Service, Alfredo Espinosa Hospital, Urduliz, Vizcaya, Spain
  • 6 Colorectal Unit, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Caserta, Italy
  • 7 Department of Urology, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore
  • 8 Wellcome EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS), University College London, London, United Kingdom
  • 9 Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil; BP-a Beneficencia Portuguesa de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • 10 Department of Urology, Kasturba Medical, College Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
  • 11 Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
  • 12 Eastern Health and Monash University Eastern Health Clinical School, Box Hill, VIC, Australia
  • 13 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
  • 14 SH Ho Urology Center, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • 15 Department of Urology, Marmara University Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  • 16 Conselleria de Sanidad Universal y salud Publica, Valencia, Spain
  • 17 Hospital Universitario Parc Tauli´ Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain
  • 18 Escola Paulista de Medicina - Universidade Federal de Sa˜o Paulo, Sa˜o Paulo, Brazil
  • 19 Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Malaysia
  • 20 Unit of Urological Robotic Surgery and Renal Transplantation, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy
  • 21 Department of Urology, Campus Biomedico University of Rome, Roma, Italy
  • 22 Servicio de Urologi´a, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
  • 23 Division of Urology, University Health Network, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Canada
  • 24 Macquarie University Hospital and Royal North Shore Hospital, Department of Urology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 25 Department of Urology- Luzerner Kantonsspital- Luzern, CH, Switzerland
  • 26 Instituto de Investigacio´n Sanitaria San Carlos, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain
Ann Surg, 2023 Jan 01;277(1):50-56.
PMID: 33491983 DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004775

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree of psychological impact among surgical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The COVID-19 pandemic has extensively impacted global healthcare systems. We hypothesized that the degree of psychological impact would be higher for surgical providers deployed for COVID-19 work, certain surgical specialties, and for those who knew of someone diagnosed with, or who died, of COVID-19.

METHODS: We conducted a global web-based survey to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19. The primary outcomes were the depression anxiety stress scale-21 and Impact of Event Scale-Revised scores.

RESULTS: A total of 4283 participants from 101 countries responded. 32.8%, 30.8%, 25.9%, and 24.0% screened positive for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD respectively. Respondents who knew someone who died of COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD (OR 1.3, 1.6, 1.4, 1.7 respectively, all P < 0.05). Respondents who knew of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 were more likely to screen positive for depression, stress, and PTSD (OR 1.2, 1.2, and 1.3 respectively, all P < 0.05). Surgical specialties that operated in the head and neck region had higher psychological distress among its surgeons. Deployment for COVID- 19-related work was not associated with increased psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic may have a mental health legacy outlasting its course. The long-term impact of this ongoing traumatic event underscores the importance of longitudinal mental health care for healthcare personnel, with particular attention to those who know of someone diagnosed with, or who died of COVID-19.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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