RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Emergency services personnel face frequent exposure to potentially traumatic events, with the potential for chronic symptomatic distress. The DSM-5 recently recognized a particular risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders (criterion A4) but data are still scarce on prevalence rates and correlates. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to explore the possible role of age, gender, and education training in a sample of emergency personnel diagnosed with DSM-5 PTSD. METHODS: The Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self-Report (TALS-SR) and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) were administered to 42 between nurses and health care assistants, employed at the emergency room of a major University Hospital (Pisa) in Italy. RESULTS: 21.4% of the sample reported DSM-5 PTSD with significantly higher scores in the TALS-SR domain exploring the acute reaction to trauma and losses among health care assistants, older, and non-graduated subjects. A significant correlation between the number of the TALS-SR symptoms endorsed, corresponding to DSM-5 PTSD diagnostic criteria emerged in health care assistants. CONCLUSIONS: Despite further studies are needed in larger samples, our data suggest a high risk for PTSD and post-traumatic stress spectrum symptoms in nurses and health care workers operating in an emergency department, particularly among health care assistants, women, older, and non-graduated operators.
RESUMEN
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) has recently recognized a particular risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders (criterion A4), acknowledging emergency units as stressful places of employment. Little data is yet available on DSM-5 among emergency health operators. The aim of this study was to assess DSM-5 symptomatological PTSD and posttraumatic stress spectrum, as well as their impact on work and social functioning, in the emergency staff of a major university hospital in Italy. One hundred and ten subjects (doctors, nurses, and health-care assistants) were recruited at the Emergency Unit of the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana (Italy) and assessed by the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report (TALS-SR) and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). A 15.7% DSM-5 symptomatological PTSD prevalence rate was found. Nongraduated persons reported significantly higher TALS-SR Domain IV (reaction to loss or traumatic events) scores and a significantly higher proportion of individuals presenting at least one maladaptive behavior (TALS-SR Domain VII), with respect to graduate ones. Women reported significantly higher WSAS scores. Significant correlations emerged between PTSD symptoms and WSAS total scores among health-care assistants, nongraduates and women. Our results showed emergency workers to be at risk for posttraumatic stress spectrum and related work and social impairment, particularly among women and nongraduated subjects.