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Volume 12, Number 12—December 2006

Research

Long-term Psychological and Occupational Effects of Providing Hospital Healthcare during SARS Outbreak

Robert G. Maunder*†Comments to Author , William J. Lancee*†, Kenneth E. Balderson*‡, Jocelyn P. Bennett*, Bjug Borgundvaag*†, Susan Evans§, Christopher M.B. Fernandes¶#, David S. Goldbloom†**, Mona Gupta†††, Jonathan J. Hunter*†, Linda McGillis Hall†, Lynn M. Nagle†, Clare Pain*†, Sonia S. Peczeniuk‡‡, Glenna Raymond§§, Nancy Read‡, Sean B. Rourke†‡, Rosalie J. Steinberg*†, Thomas E. Stewart*†, Susan VanDeVelde Coke††, Georgina G. Veldhorst¶¶, and Donald A. Wasylenki†‡
Author affiliations: *Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; †University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ‡Saint Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; §The Scarborough Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ¶Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; #McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; **Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ††Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ‡‡Rouge Valley Health System, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; §§Whitby Mental Health Centre, Whitby, Canada; ¶¶North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Main Article

Table 5

Relationship of healthcare worker, job, and SARS exposure characteristics to adverse outcomes in Toronto healthcare workers*

Characteristics Burnout
Psychological distress
Posttraumatic stress
n Median Interquartile range p value Median Interquartile range p value Median Interquartile range p value
Sex
Male 82 18 9–29 14 12–19 10 2–19
Female 505 19 10–29 0.30 15 12–19 0.91 12 4–21 0.02
Job type
Nurse 418 21 11–29 14 11–18 12 5–22
Other 169 14 8–27 0.002 15 12–20 0.16 10 2–19 0.1
Healthcare experience
<10 y 205 21 12–30 16 12–21 11 11–21
>10 y 382 18 10–28 0.82 14 11–18 0.03 11 5–22 0.06
Worked on SARS unit
<5 shifts 498 19 10–30 15 12–19 12 4–22
>5 shifts 89 17 11–26 0.75 15 11–20 0.54 10 3–17 0.63
Worked in ICU
<5 shifts 427 20 10–30 15 12–19 11 4–21
>5 shifts 160 17 9–17 0.02 14 11–20 0.29 11 3–22 0.46
Worked in Emergency
<5 shifts 434 18 10–28 15 12–20 12 5–21
>5 shifts 153 21 10–32 0.12 13 11–17 0.005 9 2–21 0.24
Ever in SARS patient room
No 167 19 9–30 15 12–19 11 4–22
Yes 420 19 10–28 0.33 15 11–19 0.09 12 4–21 0.16
Touched SARS patient
No 265 19 9–30 15 11–19 12 4–22
Yes 322 19 11–28 0.42 15 12–19 0.32 11 4–22 0.41
Protected contact with saliva or phlegm of SARS patient
No 438 19 9–29 15 12–19 11 4–21
Yes 149 19 11–29 0.43 15 12–18 0.78 10 4–22 0.44
Unprotected exposure to SARS patient
No 502 18 9–28 15 11–19 11 4–21
Yes 85 24 13–32 0.012 16 13–22 0.08 13 6–22 0.38
In SARS patients' rooms >5 min, >5 times
No 316 18 9–28 15 11–18 11 3–21
Yes 271 20 11–31 0.08 15 12–21 0.02 11 5–22 0.24
Quarantined
Never 252 19 9–28 15 11–19 11 4–22
<10 d 235 17 10–28 15 11–19 11 3–21
>10 d 100 21 11–34 0.36 16 12–22 0.09 13 5–22 0.42

*SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.

*SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.

*SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome.

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