Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41869602›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in healthcare workers before and during COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Claire Frodsham, Samuel B Harvey, Daniel Collins, Karen Krakue, Vita Ligaya Dalgaard, Rosie Lipscomb, Matthew Hotopf, Mark Deady, Richard Bryant, Aimee Gayed

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Claire FrodshamBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Samuel B HarveyBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Daniel CollinsBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Karen KrakueBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Vita Ligaya DalgaardDepartment of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Rosie LipscombBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Matthew HotopfDepartment of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom.
Mark DeadyBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Richard BryantBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Aimee GayedBlack Dog Institute, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many known risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among healthcare workers. This systematic review and meta-analysis examines pooled prevalence estimates of probable PTSD among this cohort prior to COVID-19 compared to during COVID-19 and investigates time trends in prevalence. Systematic multi-database literature searches were conducted to identify studies published between January 2017 and July 2023. Included studies reported the prevalence of probable PTSD, measured by validated screening tools, in clinical healthcare workers. Two reviewers independently conducted study screening, data extraction, and quality assessment. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate pooled prevalence of probable PTSD among healthcare workers in each time period. Subgroup analyses were carried out for year, profession, quality of study, COVID-19 mortality rates, and income level within the country of study. Screening identified 21 papers comprising 11,838 healthcare workers published in the 3 years preceding the pandemic, and 129 papers reporting on 130,363 healthcare workers during the pandemic. The pooled prevalence estimate of probable PTSD prior to the pandemic was 15.5% (95% CI: 12.3-19.3%) and this significantly increased during the pandemic to 24.8% (95% CI: 22.0-27.8%), peaking early in the pandemic in 2020 before returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. During the pandemic, prevalence estimates were significantly higher among nurses and those in countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, whilst no significant difference was observed between studies conducted in high-income versus low- and middle-income countries. Substantial heterogeneity was observed. The findings of this review suggest that prevalence of PTSD among healthcare workers significantly increased following the COVID-19 outbreak. By the third year of the pandemic, probable PTSD prevalence rates appear to return to pre-pandemic levels, although these levels remain concerningly high. These findings support the call for targeted interventions to protect healthcare worker wellbeing, particularly during healthcare emergencies. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42022364955, unique identifier is CRD42022364955.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticFrontline WorkersHumansPandemicsPrevalenceSARS-CoV-2COVID-19health personnelmeta-analysispost-traumatic stress discorderprevalence

Identifiers

PMID41869602
PMCPMC13003540

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.