Worsening psychological wellbeing of Australian hospital clinical staff during three waves of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Sara Holton; Bodil Rasmussen; Shane Crowe; Melody Trueman; Adrian Dabscheck; Sarah Booth; Danielle Hitch; Catherine M. Said; Kimberley J. Haines; Karen Wynter

doi:10.1071/AH23120

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Worsening psychological wellbeing of Australian hospital clinical staff during three waves of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Sara Holton

^A ^B ^* , Bodil Rasmussen ^A ^B ^C ^D , Shane Crowe ^E , Melody Trueman ^E , Adrian Dabscheck ^F , Sarah Booth ^G , Danielle Hitch

^G ^H , Catherine M. Said ^G ^I ^J , Kimberley J. Haines ^G and Karen Wynter ^A ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3220, Australia.

^B Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research in the Institute of Health Transformation – Western Health Partnership, Deakin University, St Albans, Vic. 3021, Australia.

^C Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.

^D Faculty of Health Services, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.

^E Nursing and Midwifery, Western Health, St Albans, Vic. 3021, Australia.

^F Medical Services, Western Health, Footscray, Vic. 3011, Australia.

^G Allied Health, Western Health, St Albans, Vic. 3021, Australia.

^H Occupational Science and Therapy, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3220, Australia.

^I Physiotherapy, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.

^J Australian Institute of Musculoskeletal Science, St. Albans, Vic. 3021, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: s.holton@deakin.edu.au

Australian Health Review 47(6) 641-651 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH23120

Submitted: 15 June 2023 Accepted: 28 September 2023 Published: 17 October 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to assess and compare the psychological wellbeing of Australian hospital clinical staff at three timepoints during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods

An anonymous, online, cross-sectional survey was conducted at three timepoints during the COVID-19 pandemic (T1: May–June 2020; T2: October–December 2020; T3: November 2021–January 2022). The surveys were completed by nurses, midwives, doctors and allied health staff employed at a large metropolitan tertiary health service located in Melbourne, Australia. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) assessed respondents’ psychological wellbeing in the past week. General linear models were used to measure the effects of survey timepoint on DASS-21 subscale scores, adjusting for selected sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Results

A total of 1470 hospital clinical staff completed at least one survey (T1: 668 (14.7%), T2: 358 (7.9%) and T3: 444 (9.8%)). Respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics were similar across the three timepoints and within professional discipline groups. Respondents’ psychological wellbeing was worse at T3 compared to the earlier survey timepoints. Adjusting for respondent characteristics, depression, anxiety and stress scores were significantly higher for respondents of the third survey compared to the first (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

There was a significant and persistent negative impact on the psychological wellbeing of hospital clinical staff in Australia across waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital clinical staff would benefit from ongoing and continued wellbeing support during and after pandemic waves.

Keywords: anxiety, Australia, COVID-19, depression, hospitals, longitudinal study, mental health, stress.

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