Anxiety and Depression in Physical Therapists during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey in Gwangju, South Korea

Se-Ju Park (박세주); Jeong Ho Jin (정호진); Byeong Geun Kim (김병근)

Anxiety and Depression in Physical Therapists during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey in Gwangju, South Korea

Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
Abbr : J Korean Soc Phys Med
2021, 16(2), pp.23-30
Publisher : The Korean Society of Physical Medicine
Research Area : Medicine and Pharmacy > Physical Therapy > Other physical therapy
Received : March 8, 2021
Accepted : April 15, 2021
Published : May 31, 2021

Se-Ju Park ¹, Jeong Ho Jin ¹, Byeong Geun Kim ¹

¹남부대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Physical therapists are at risk of becoming infected because they are in contact with or within 2 meters of the patient while treating them. The purpose of this study is to investigate the anxiety and depression of physical therapists during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to identify the factors that affect anxiety and depression. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the pandemic. The survey were completed by 84 physical therapists in 24 local hospitals in Gwangju, South Korea. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to evaluate their anxiety and depression status. Logistic regression models were used to identify the general characteristics factors related to anxiety or depression. RESULTS: It was found that 40 (47.6%) respondents had anxiety, and 37 (44%) had depression. If there was a child under the age of seven in the physical therapist’s family, a high probability of anxiety (p < .05) prevailed. Physical therapists in their 30s had a higher risk of depression than those in their 40s (p < .05). The risk of anxiety and depression in physical therapists who were with patients who did not wear masks was higher than for those who were with patients who wore masks (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The anxiety and depression status of physical therapists in Gwangju, South Korea, during the pandemic of COVID-19 was poor. It is necessary to wear a mask for all people during physical therapy.

KEYWORDS

Anxiety, Covid-19, Depression, Mental health, Physical therapists

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

[journal] Huang C / 2020 / Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China / Lancet 395(10223) : 497~506

[journal] Wiersinga WJ / 2020 / Pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) : a review / JAMA 324(8) : 782~793

[web] / COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. COVID-19 / https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

[journal] Shim E / 2020 / Transmission potential and severity of COVID-19 in South Korea / Int J Infect Dis 93 : 339~344

[journal] Sung-Il Cho / 2020 / Academic Community’s Efforts to Guide the Fight Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Epidemic in Korea / 예방의학회지 / 대한예방의학회 53(2) : 65~66

[journal] Lee AM / 2007 / Stress and psychological distress among SARS survivors 1 year after the outbreak / Can J Psychiatry 52(4) : 233~240

[journal] Wu P / 2009 / The psychological impact of the SARS epidemic on hospital employees in China : exposure, risk perception, and altruistic acceptance of risk / Can J Psychiatry 54(5) : 302~311

[journal] Lee SM / 2018 / Psychological impact of the 2015 MERS outbreak on hospital workers and quarantined hemodialysis patients / Compr Psychiatry 87 : 123~127

[journal] Zhang WR / 2020 / Mental health and psychosocial problems of medical health workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China / Psychother Psychosom 89(4) : 242~250

[journal] Li Q / 2020 / The psychological health status of healthcare workers during the COVID-19outbreak : a cross-sectional survey study in Guangdong, China / Front Public Health 8 : 562885~

[journal] Magnavita N / 2020 / Occupational stress and mental health among anesthetists during the COVID-19 pandemic / Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(21) : 8245~

[journal] Mira JJ / 2020 / Acute stress of the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic evolution : a cross-sectional study in Spain / BMJ Open 10(11) : e042555~

[journal] Hu N / 2020 / Impact of the family environment on the emotional state of medical staff during the COVID-19 outbreak : the mediating effect of self-efficacy / Front Psychol 11 : 576515~

[journal] Sohrabi C / 2020 / World health organization declares global emergency : A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus(COVID-19) / Int J Surg 76 : 71~76

[journal] Guan WJ / 2020 / Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China / N Engl J Med 382(18) : 1708~1720

[journal] Van Doremalen N / 2020 / Aerosol and surface stability of SARS-CoV-2 as compared with SARS-CoV-1 / N Engl J Med 382(16) : 1564~1567

[journal] Chu DK / 2020 / Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 : a systematic review and meta-analysis / Lancet 395(10242) : 1973~1987

[journal] Spitzer RL / 2006 / A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder : the GAD-7 / Arch Intern Med 166(10) : 1092~1097

[journal] Lee SH / 2020 / Validation of the Korean version of the generalized anxiety disorder 7 self‐rating scale / Asia Pac Psychiatry : e12421~

[journal] Kroenke K / 2001 / The PHQ-9 : validity of a brief depression severity measure / J Gen Intern Med 16(9) : 606~613

[journal] Maroufizadeh S / 2019 / The reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9)and PHQ-2 in patients with infertility / Reprod Health 16(1) : 137~

[journal] Yang S / 2020 / The mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical therapists / Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(10) : 3723~

[journal] Zhang Y / 2020 / Factors influencing mental health of medical workers during the COVID-19 outbreak / Front Public Health 8 : 491~

[journal] Cao Q / 2020 / SARS-CoV-2 infection in children : Transmission dynamics and clinical characteristics / J Formos Med Assoc 119(3) : 670~673

[journal] 박지영 / 2020 / First Pediatric Case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Korea / Journal of Korean Medical Science / 대한의학회 35(11) : 1~7

[journal] Nwachukwu I / 2020 / COVID-19pandemic : age-related differences in measures of stress, anxiety and depression in Canada / Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(17) : 6366~

[journal] Shaw K / 2020 / Wearing of cloth or disposable surgical face masks has no effect on vigorous exercise performance in healthy individuals / Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(21) : 8110~

KJCKorea
Journal Central

Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.45