Assessment of perceived stress among resident trainees of a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia during COVID–19 pandemic – a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background & Objective: The massive burden of COVID-19 disease is believed to be associated with significant psychological disturbances on healthcare professionals. Increasing levels of stress may lead to anxiety, depression, burnout syndrome, and in severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder. The objective of this study was to examine the presence of stress among resident trainee doctors working in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia in the context of the corona pandemic.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We included the resident trainee doctors from different specialties of our hospital including medical, surgical, anesthesia, emergency room (ER), and critical care units. We used convenience sampling to select study respondents. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used for assessing the stress levels among trainees. Trainees were requested to fill the questionnaire either online survey monkey or in paper form. All data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26. We calculated mean, standard deviation, frequency count, and percentages for the perceived stress.

Results: A total of 60 trainees were included in this study. Mean PSS-10 score was 20 ± 5.51, with a range between 6 and 34. Four (6.7 %) trainees had low stress and 50 (83.3 %) trainees had moderate stress while 6 (10 %) trainees had high stress

Conclusion: The majority of resident trainees in our study experienced a moderate level of anxiety during this COVID pandemic.

Key words: Stress, Resident trainees, COVID-19, pandemic

Citation:  ul Huda A, Yasir M, Saulat SA, AlShaqha MW. Assessment of perceived stress among resident trainees of a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia during COVID–19 pandemic – a cross-sectional study. Anaesth. pain intensive care 2021;25(2):185-188. DOI: 10.35975/apic.v25i2.1471