Being Both a Parent and a Healthcare Worker in the Pandemic: Who Could Be Exhausted More?

Abstract

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the living conditions of many people. Many people felt significantly constrained. However, for individuals who are both parents and healthcare professionals, the situation seems more troubling in other ways. (2) Objectives: Based on this, we planned a study evaluating demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related anxiety levels, and parenting-related stress levels of the health care professionals who were working in the University Hospital. We also evaluated the parameters that affect COVID-19-related anxiety and parenting stress. (3) Methods: The level of COVID-19-related anxiety is assessed by the coronavirus anxiety scale. The parenting stress index-short form is used for evaluation of parenting stress. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 22. (4) Results: Female gender, working as a nurse, a history of COVID-19, and having a child attending daycare were parameters that increased the level of COVID-19-related anxiety. Occupation, being a parent of a schoolchild and/or primary school child, being a parent of a child receiving face-to-face education, and having more than two children were found to be risk factors for parenting stress. Clinically significant parenting stress was found to increase threefold in healthcare workers with more than two children (R² = 0.101, p = 0.039). (5) Conclusions: Healthcare professionals, who are also parents, play a huge role both at home and in the hospital in the pandemic. Therefore, it is inevitable that their stress and anxiety levels increase. It is important to determine the factors that cause stress and anxiety and to take measures in this direction to get through this process well.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; health care professionals; parenting stress index.