RT Journal Article
T1 Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
A1 Włoszczak Szubzda, Anna
A1 Goniewicz, Mariusz
A1 Gómez Salgado, Juan
A1 Al-Wathinani, Ahmed M.
A1 Goniewicz, Krzysztof
AB The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental health of healthcare workers globally. Given the critical role theseprofessionals play, understanding the prevalence and predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among healthcareworkers is crucial for developing targeted interventions. Comprehensive data on the predictors of PTSD symptoms within thispopulation remain limited. This cross-sectional study surveyed 852 healthcare workers across 4 Polish regions between 2021and 2022. Data were collected using the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL-C), which was culturallyadapted and validated for Polish respondents. To identify key predictors of PTSD symptoms, researchers employed variousstatistical methods: Descriptive Statistics summarized key variables (e.g. age, job tenure) to provide an overview of data distributionand sample characteristics. Pearson Correlations examined linear relationships among variables like age, work experience, andPTSD severity, ensuring no multicollinearity through variance inflation factor checks. t-Tests and Mann–Whitney U tests comparedPTSD symptom severity across demographic and professional subgroups, accounting for normality using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. And Hierarchical Regression Analysis identified significant predictors, incorporating demographic factors first andwork-related variables (e.g. fear for personal health) in a second step. A total of 88.1% of participants were female, and 82.6%were nurses. The overall prevalence of PTSD symptoms was high, with a mean total PTSD score of 37.87. Gender differenceswere significant, with women reporting higher scores across the PTSD subscales, including avoidance and hyperarousal. Nurseshad significantly higher intrusion symptoms compared to other professionals. Fear for personal health was the strongest predictorof PTSD symptoms (β = 0.15, P < .001), explaining 11% of the variance in the final regression model (R2 = 0.11, P < .001).The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions, particularly for women and nurses, who aredisproportionately affected by PTSD during the pandemic. Predictive models should guide the development of support programsto mitigate the long-term psychological impact of COVID-19 and ensure better preparedness for future pandemics. The significantinfluence of fear for personal health on PTSD outcomes highlights the importance of protective measures and psychologicalsupport for frontline healthcare workers
PB Ovid Technologies
SN 0025-7974
SN 1536-5964 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-03
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25411
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25411
LA eng
NO Włoszczak-Szubzda, A., Goniewicz, M., Gómez-Salgado, J., Al-Wathinani, A. M., & Goniewicz, K. (2025). Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. In Medicine (Vol. 104, Issue 11, p. e41821). Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000041821
NO The authors would like to extend their appreciation to KingSaud University for funding this work through the ResearchersSupporting Project number (RSPD2025R649), King SaudUniversity, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026