Post-traumatic stress disorders and coping strategies of health professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: findings of a countrywide cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic imposed a devastating effect on the psychological health of health professionals as they worked nonstop to withstand the hardship of the pandemic. The present study intended to determine the post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and coping strategies among health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. METHODS: This country-wide cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2021 among 1394 health professionals (596 physicians, 713 nurses, 85 medical technologists) who served COVID-19 patients at the secondary, tertiary, and specialized government healthcare facilities in Bangladesh and completed at least one month after exposure to COVID-19 patient-care. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software. All the ethical issues were maintained strictly. FINDINGS: Most of the participants, 877 (62.9%) [95% CI: 60.3–65.5], were female, and 327 (23.5%) [95% CI: 21.3–25.8] developed PTSD. Females (AOR:1.42 [95% CI: 1.083–1.868] p = 0.011), having an elderly family member (AOR:1.515 [95% CI: 1.173–1.956] p = 0.0014), working in specialized hospitals (AOR:2.685 [95% CI: 1.928–3.739] p < 0.001), and working ≥8 hours/day (AOR:1.897 [95% CI: 1.350–2.666] p = 0.0002) had higher odds of developing PTSD. Most of the participants adopted spiritual approaches 96 (29.4%) [24.5–34.6] and distraction by watching TV/YouTube 59 (18.0%) [14.0–22.6] as coping strategies. INTERPRETATION: The study findings would be helpful for health policymakers and managers to develop comprehensive measures for restoring the mental well-being of health professionals by alleviating PTSD induced by a pandemic like COVID-19. FUNDING: The study got funding from the Directorate General of Medical Education under the 10.13039/501100007334Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh.