Perceived stress and performance of daily activities among emergency healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers were exposed to intense stress in the emergency departments and sudden changes in their daily lives.

Objective

The study aimed to investigate the impact of the pandemic on performance and participation in the activities of daily living, personal lives, and overall well-being of the healthcare workers in an emergency department.

Methods

Seventy-eight people working in an emergency department of a university hospital (100% of those eligible) participated in the study during June-July 2022. A self-report survey, cross-sectional design was used to collect data. Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS) and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). Independent sample t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used for statistical analysis.

Results

There was a significant negative correlation between PSS and COPM Performance (r = −0.524) as well as between PSS and COPM Satisfaction (r = −0.508), indicating that higher levels of stress were associated with lower performance and satisfaction. In addition, work-related factors, including working experience, daily working hours, and time available for rest at work, were significantly associated with PSS, COPM Performance, and Satisfaction (p < 0.05). The strongest multivariate associations (p = 0.001) were found between lacking time to rest at work and PSS (direct) and COPM Performance and Satisfaction (inverse).

Conclusion

The stress experienced by emergency healthcare workers during COVID-19 negatively impacted their performance, daily activities, personal lives, and well-being. A potential implication is that policy-makers addressing work-related factors and implementing regulations could improve the well-being of these workers in their professional practices.

Keywords

COVID-19 emergency healthcare workers occupational performance stress

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