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Published ahead of print on December 21, 2006, doi:10.1164/rccm.200606-735OC

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 175, Number 7, April 2007, 693-697

A more recent version of this article appeared on April 1, 2007
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Submitted on June 1, 2006
Accepted on December 21, 2006

Increased Prevalence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms in Critical Care Nurses

Meredith L Mealer1, April Shelton1, Britt Berg2, Barbara Rothbaum2, and Marc Moss1*

1 Department of Medicine, Emory Univeristy School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States, 2 Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Marc.Moss{at}uchsc.edu.

Rationale: Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses work in a demanding environment where they are repetitively exposed to traumatic situations and stressful events. The psychological effects on nurses as a result of working in the ICU are relatively unknown. Objective: To determine whether there is an increased prevalence of psychological symptoms in ICU nurses when compared to general nurses. Methods: We initially surveyed ICU and general nurses from three different hospitals (n=351) and then subsequently surveyed ICU nurses throughout the metropolitan area (n=140). Measurements and Main Results: In both cohorts of nurses, we determined the prevalence of symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression using validated survey instruments. Within our hospital system, 24% (54/230) of the ICU nurses tested positive for symptoms of PTSD related to their work environment, compared to only 14% (17/121) of the general nurses, p = 0.03. However, ICU nurses did not report a greater amount of stress in their life outside of the hospital than general nurses. There was no difference in symptoms of depression or anxiety between ICU and general nurses. In the second survey of ICU nurses from our metropolitan area, 29% (41/140) of the respondents reported symptoms of PTSD, similar to our first cohort of ICU nurses. Conclusions: ICU nurses have an increased prevalence of PTSD symptoms when compared to other general nurses. Hopefully these results will increase awareness of these symptoms in nurses and lead to future interventions that improve their mental health, job satisfaction and help retain ICU nurses in their profession.
Key words: Intensive care units, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, nursing




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