Psychological Response to COVID-19 in Turkish Dialysis Healthcare Providers

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has been a stressful experience for healthcare providers (HCP), and created an additional distress on dialysis HCP since patients have greater risk of infection, symptom severity and death. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the level of psychological difficulties in Turkish dialysis HCP during the early outbreak period. METHODS: Participants filled an online survey including a screening questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Chi-Square, Fisher’s exact, Mann- Whitney- U, Kruskal Wallis, Spearman correlation and linear regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Getting infected with COVID-19 and transmitting the disease to their beloveds were the major concerns of HCP. DASS-21 scores were higher in participants who were single and without children, having trouble in finding equipment or worrying about finding equipment in the future, being in contact with COVID-19(+) people; who increased tobacco and alcohol use, and who declared sleep, appetite, somatic problems. Worries about getting COVID-19 [(94.6%) vs. (90.6%) vs. (84.7%); p<0.001] and shortage of equipment [(52.9%) vs. (29.4%) vs. (26.3%); p<0.001]; sleep [(62.2%) vs. (43.5%) vs. (34%); p<0.001] and somatic problems [(58.4%) vs. (50%) vs. (28.2%); p<0.001] and DASS-21 scores [(5-21) vs. (3-15) vs. (0-12); p<0.001] were higher in nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Worries and lifestyle changes associated with the outbreak are related to psychological difficulties. Adequate level of knowledge, self-protection and social support are important issues for HCP. While we recommend the HCP to express and share their worries; institutions should focus on the psychological status of the staff and provide immediate interventions. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared