Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Research Assistants Struggling Against the Pandemic in a University Hospital

Abstract Objective and Aim The social, political, economic and psychological negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which started in China and affected the whole world, are an undeniable fact. The Covid-19 pandemic threatens both physical and psychological health of people. The aim of this study is to screen the research assistants struggling against the Covid-19 pandemic in Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine for post-traumatic stress disorder and to examine the relationship between these symptoms with sociodemographic variables. Materials and Methods The population of this cross-sectional, descriptive study consists of research assistants working at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine. Datas were collected between December 2021 and May 2022. During this period, it was aimed to reach all 675 research assistants who working at Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, but 387 participants who agreed to participate in the study were included in the study. The participants signed an informed consent form firstly. Data collection tools are sociodemographic data questionnaire and posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). The questionnaire and scale were applied to the participants by face-to-face interviews. Results The mean age of 387 research assistants is 29.6 years old. 52.5% of the research assistants are female and 47.5% of them are male. PCL-5 average score of the participants is 20.28. The number of participants who have 31 cutoff point and above this are 49, and the rate is 12.66%. 70% of the participants work in internal diseases departments and 85.3% of them like their profession. 83.7% of them have worked in pandemic units, 84.5% of them had Covid-19 infection and 98.2% of them have vaccinated against the Covid-19. Women, novices, participants who don't like their profession, who aren't satisfied with their department, who use alcohol, who work in intensive care unit, who had 3 or fewer doses of vaccine and who think that the pandemic is a stressor have higher PCL-5 scores. Conclusion Our study has revealed how the research assistants were worn out psychologically during the pandemic. Therefore, precautions should be taken for the protection and improvement of research assistants’ mental health. Research assistants should be able to get psychiatric support and treatment easily. Keywords: Covid-19 Pandemic, Research Assistants, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder