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COVID-19 Infection Experience and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Medical Staff: The Mediating Role of Professional Burnout

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2024

Bingqian Wang ,
Xiaohan Liu ,
Bing Han ,
Xiaoguang Li ,
Jiawei Zhang ,
Yaqun Fu ,
Zheng Zhu ,
Zhijie Nie ,
Yiyang Tan  and
Jing Guo Open the ORCID record for Jing Guo [Opens in a new window]
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Bingqian Wang
Affiliation:
Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, P.R. China Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Xiaohan Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Bing Han
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Center of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Xiaoguang Li
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, P.R. China
Jiawei Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Yaqun Fu
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Zheng Zhu
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Zhijie Nie
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Yiyang Tan
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Jing Guo*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Li Yang*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, P.R. China
Rongmeng Jiang*
Affiliation:
Clinical and Research Center of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
*
Corresponding authors: Jing Guo, Li Yang and Rongmeng Jiang; Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Corresponding authors: Jing Guo, Li Yang and Rongmeng Jiang; Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Corresponding authors: Jing Guo, Li Yang and Rongmeng Jiang; Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
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Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to assess the relationship between COVID-19 infection-related conditions and depressive symptoms among medical staff after easing the zero-COVID policy in China, and to further examine the mediating role of professional burnout.

Methods

A total of 1716 medical staff from all levels of health care institutions in 16 administrative districts of Beijing, China, were recruited to participate at the end of 2022 in this cross-sectional study. Several multiple linear regressions and mediating effects tests were performed to analyze the data.

Results

At the beginning of the end of the zero-COVID policy in China, 91.84% of respondents reported infection with COVID-19. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, the severity of infection symptoms was significantly positively associated with high levels of depressive symptoms (β = 0.06, P < 0.001), and this association was partially mediated by professional burnout. Specifically, emotional exhaustion (95% CI, 0.131, 0.251) and depersonalization (95% CI, 0.009, 0.043) significantly mediated the association between the severity of infection symptoms and depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

The mental health of medical staff with more severe symptoms of COVID-19 infection should be closely monitored. Also, interventions aimed at reducing emotional exhaustion and depersonalization may effectively reduce their risk of developing depressive symptoms.

Keywords

COVID-19 infectionprofessional burnoutdepressive symptomsmedical staff
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e290
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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