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. 2022 Mar 10;17(3):e0264956.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264956. eCollection 2022.

Psychological distress and burnout among healthcare worker during COVID-19 pandemic in India-A cross-sectional study

Geetha R Menon  1 , Jeetendra Yadav  1 , Sumit Aggarwal  2 , Ravinder Singh  2 , Simran Kaur  1 , Tapas Chakma  3 , Murugesan Periyasamy  4 , Chitra Venkateswaran  5 , Prashant Kumar Singh  6 , Rakesh Balachandar  7 , Ragini Kulkarni  8 , Ashoo Grover  9 , Bijaya Kumar Mishra  10 , Maribon Viray  11 , Kangjam Rekha Devi  12 , K H Jitenkumar Singh  1 , K B Saha  3 , P V Barde  3 , Beena Thomas  4 , Chandra Suresh  4 , Dhanalakshmi A  4 , Basilea Watson  4 , Pradeep Selvaraj  13 , Gladston Xavier  14 , Denny John  15 , Jaideep Menon  15 , Sairu Philip  5 , Geethu Mathew  5 , Alice David  5 , Raman Swathy Vaman  5 , Abey Sushan  5 , Shalini Singh  6 , Kiran Jakhar  16 , Asha Ketharam  7 , Ranjan Prusty  8 , Jugal Kishore  17 , U Venkatesh  17 , Subrata Kumar  10 , Srikanta Kanungo  10 , Krushna Sahoo  10 , Swagatika Swain  10 , Anniesha Lyngdoh  11 , Jochanan Diengdoh  11 , Phibawan Syiemlieh  11 , AbuHasan Sarkar  12 , Gajanan Velhal  18 , Swapnil Kharnare  19 , Deepika Nandanwar  18 , M Vishnu Vardhana Rao  1 , Samiran Panda  2
Affiliations

Psychological distress and burnout among healthcare worker during COVID-19 pandemic in India-A cross-sectional study

Geetha R Menon et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

  • Correction: Psychological distress and burnout among healthcare worker during COVID-19 pandemic in India-A cross-sectional study.
    Menon GR, Yadav J, Aggarwal S, Singh R, Kaur S, Chakma T, Periyasamy M, Venkateswaran C, Singh PK, Balachandar R, Kulkarni R, Grover A, Mishra BK, Viray M, Devi KR, Jitenkumar Singh KH, Saha KB, Barde PV, Thomas B, Suresh C, A D, Watson B, Selvaraj P, Xavier G, John D, Menon J, Philip S, Mathew G, David A, Vaman RS, Sushan A, Singh S, Jakhar K, Ketharam A, Prusty R, Kishore J, Venkatesh U, Kumar S, Kanungo S, Sahoo K, Swain S, Lyngdoh A, Diengdoh J, Syiemlieh P, Sarkar A, Velhal G, Kharnare S, Nandanwar D, Vishnu Vardhana Rao M, Panda S. Menon GR, et al. PLoS One. 2024 Nov 27;19(11):e0314925. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314925. eCollection 2024. PLoS One. 2024. PMID: 39602429 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has inundated the entire world disrupting the lives of millions of people. The pandemic has stressed the healthcare system of India impacting the psychological status and functioning of health care workers. The aim of this study is to determine the burnout levels and factors associated with the risk of psychological distress among healthcare workers (HCW) engaged in the management of COVID 19 in India.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020 by telephonic interviews using a web-based Google form. Health facilities and community centres from 12 cities located in 10 states were selected for data collection. Data on socio-demographic and occupation-related variables like age, sex, type of family, income, type of occupation, hours of work and income were obtained was obtained from 967 participants, including doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, emergency response teams, lab personnel, and others directly involved in COVID 19 patient care. Levels of psychological distress was assessed by the General health Questionnaire -GHQ-5 and levels of burnout was assessed using the ICMR-NIOH Burnout questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the risk of psychological distress. The third quartile values of the three subscales of burnout viz EE, DP and PA were used to identify burnout profiles of the healthcare workers.

Results: Overall, 52.9% of the participants had the risk of psychological distress that needed further evaluation. Risk of psychological distress was significantly associated with longer hours of work (≥ 8 hours a day) (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI(1.66-3.41), income≥20000(AOR = 1.74, 95% CI, (1.16-2.6); screening of COVID-19 patients (AOR = 1.63 95% CI (1.09-2.46), contact tracing (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI (1.1-3.81), High Emotional exhaustion score (EE ≥16) (AOR = 4.41 95% CI (3.14-6.28) and High Depersonalisation score (DP≥7) (AOR = 1.79, 95% CI (1.28-2.51)). About 4.7% of the HCWs were overextended (EE>18); 6.5% were disengaged (DP>8) and 9.7% HCWs were showing signs of burnout (high on all three dimensions).

Conclusion: The study has identified key factors that could have been likely triggers for psychological distress among healthcare workers who were engaged in management of COVID cases in India. The study also demonstrates the use of GHQ-5 and ICMR-NIOH Burnout questionnaire as important tools to identify persons at risk of psychological distress and occurrence of burnout symptoms respectively. The findings provide useful guide to planning interventions to mitigate mental health problems among HCW in future epidemic/pandemic scenarios in the country.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Map showing study sites.
Source: https://mapchart.net/india.html.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Mean burnout subscale scores plotted against GHQ scores.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Odds ratios for the association of socio-economic and job-related variables with the risk of psychological distress.
$Auxiliary nurse / paramedical staff, Laboratory staff/ Supporting staff, House-keeping /sanitation, Ambulance driver/staff/ward boys/Guards, ASHA/UHW/USHA.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Odds ratios for the association of types of activities and risk of psychological distress.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Distribution of participants in three subscales of burnout.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Profiles of burnout scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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