A cross-sectional study on the psychological changes of medical personnel in hospitals who experienced special COVID-19 situations

COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in psychological problems; health professionals with higher exposure to risk of infection suffer psychological changes. This study aimed to investigate the level of anxiety, anger, and depression among health professionals in COVID-related special circumstances. A mass COVID-19 outbreak occurred in a general hospital in Korea. In total, 149 frontline and non-frontline health professionals involved in this were surveyed. Their anger, anxiety, and depression were assessed using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, General Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Korean Screening Tool for Depressive disorders. By occupation, health professionals showed relatively higher anxiety and depression than non-health professionals. By type of work, frontline staff showed a higher level of depression than non-frontline staff. The results confirmed that healthcare staff underwent psychological changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to raise awareness on post-traumatic stress disorder affecting health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.