ArticleMedizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin2025
[Mental distress of intensive care staff in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the VOICE study].
Article in Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Psychometric validation of a cognition and social participation bolt-on for the EQ-5D-5L in SARS-CoV-2 infected German healthcare workers.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on working conditions and mental health among employees in health and social services.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life and Mental Health Among Employees in Health and Social Services-A Longitudinal Study.Infectious disease reports · 2025Article
- Impact of an Integrated Psychosocial Intervention for Health Care Professionals in an Intensive Care Unit: Controlled Quasi-Experimental Trial.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed major challenges to the healthcare system worldwide and led to particular stress among healthcare workers. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the level of global mental stress of direct healthcare workers in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsIn this prospective cross-sectional study with four measurement points (T1: 4-5/2020, T2:11/2020-1/2021, 5-7/2021, 2-5/2022), psychological distress symptoms were recorded in an online survey with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) among hospital staff working in direct patient care (N = 5408 datasets). The total dataset was exploratively analyzed according to field of activity, gender, and professional group affiliation.
resultsClinically relevant psychological distress (PHQ-4 ≥ 5) was present in 29.3% (n = 419/1429) of intensive care staff. A comparison of the four cross-sectional surveys showed a significant increase in the rate of clinically relevant mental distress in the first pandemic year (23.2% at T1 vs. 30.6% at T2; p < 0.01), which stabilized at a high level in the second pandemic year (33.6% at T3 and 32.0% at T4). Women did not differ from men in this respect (n = 280/919, 30.4% vs. n = 139/508, 27.4%; p = 0.74). Nursing staff were significantly more often psychologically stressed than physicians (n = 339/1105, 30.7% vs. n = 80/324, 24.7%; p = 0.03). Intensive care staff did not show significantly higher stress than staff working in nonintensive care areas (n = 419/1429, 29.3% vs. n = 1149/3979, 28.7%, p = 0.21).
conclusionGerman healthcare workers reported high levels of mental distress during the pandemic, which increased during the course of the pandemic, but no significant difference was found between intensive care and nonintensive care staff in our sample. This may be due to the fact that the pandemic in Germany was comparatively moderate internationally and neither a collapse of the healthcare system in general nor a collapse of intensive care structures in particular took place.
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