Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Aug;65(8):577-583.
doi: 10.1177/0706743720916356. Epub 2020 Mar 31.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Symptoms and Help Seeking in Psychiatric Staff: Trouble de stress post-traumatique, dépression, symptômes d'anxiété et recherche d'aide chez le personnel psychiatrique

Michael C Seto  1 , Nicole C Rodrigues  1 , Elke Ham  2 , Bonnie Kirsh  3 , N Zoe Hilton  2
Affiliations

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Symptoms and Help Seeking in Psychiatric Staff: Trouble de stress post-traumatique, dépression, symptômes d'anxiété et recherche d'aide chez le personnel psychiatrique

Michael C Seto et al. Can J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

Background and methods: In this study, we surveyed 761 psychiatric hospital staff (69% women, 71% full-time, 56% nursing) regarding their exposure to trauma in the workplace; symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety; help seeking; and perceived barriers for help seeking.

Results: Significant proportions of staff met the screening cutoffs for probable PTSD (16%), depression (20%), and anxiety (16%). Comorbidity was high, with approximately half of those meeting the screening cutoff for PTSD also meeting the cutoffs for depression or anxiety. Only PTSD symptoms were uniquely associated with exposure to trauma in the workplace, but both PTSD and depression symptoms significantly predicted help seeking. Staff who met one or more screening cutoffs perceived more barriers to help seeking such as difficulty with accessing services.

Conclusion: Implications for supporting psychiatric staff exposed to trauma are discussed.

Contexte et méthodes:: Dans cette étude, nous avons interrogé 761 employés d’un hôpital psychiatrique (69% de femmes, 71% à temps plein, 56% du personnel infirmier) au sujet de leur exposition aux traumatismes en milieu de travail, des symptômes de troubles de stress post-traumatique (TSPT), de dépression ou et d’anxiété, de la recherche d’aide et d’obstacles perçus à cette recherche.

Résultats:: Des proportions significatives du personnel atteignaient les seuils de dépistage d’un TSPT probable (16%), de la dépression (20%), et de l’anxiété (16%). La comorbidité était élevée, car environ la moitié de ceux qui atteignaient le seuil de dépistage du TSPT atteignaient également les seuils de la dépression ou de l’anxiété. Seuls les symptômes du TSPT étaient uniquement associés à l’exposition à un traumatisme en milieu de travail, mais les symptômes du TSPT comme de la dépression prédisaient significativement la recherche d’aide.

Conclusion:: Les employés qui atteignaient un ou plusieurs seuils de dépistage percevaient plus d’obstacles à la recherche d’aide, comme la difficulté d’accéder aux services. Les implications du soutien au personnel psychiatrique exposé aux traumatismes sont discutées.

Keywords: PTSD symptoms; help seeking; perceived barriers to support; psychiatric staff; workplace trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Formal supports used in past 12 months.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5th ed Washington, (DC): American Psychiatric Association; 2013.
    1. Gates DM, Gillespie GL, Succop P. Violence against nurses and its impact on stress and productivity. Nurs Econ. 2011;29(2):59–66. - PubMed
    1. Speroni KG, Fitch T, Dawson E, Dugan L, Atherton M. Incidence and cost of nurse workplace violence perpetrated by hospital patients or patient visitors. J Emerg Nurs. 2014;40(3):218–228. - PubMed
    1. Hilton NZ, Ham E, Dretzkat A. Psychiatric hospital workers’ exposure to disturbing patient behavior and its relation to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Can J Nurs Res. 2017;49(3):118–126. - PubMed
    1. Alden LE, Regambal MJ, Laposa JM. The effects of direct versus witnessed threat on emergency department healthcare workers: implications for PTSD criterion A. J Anxiety Disord. 2008;22(8):1337–1346. - PubMed

Publication types