Previously submitted to: JMIR Formative Research (no longer under consideration since Aug 13, 2024)
Date Submitted: Jul 21, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Indonesian Field Workers amidst Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unusual stress exposure that may have contributed to mental health disorders. The oil and gas industry, as one of essential industry, had to adopt coping strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, which caused longer work rotation cycles and increased workload due to the limited number of field workers. Combined with fear of COVID-19 infection, those changes may participate to an increase in mental health issues among them.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among Indonesian oil and gas field workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted during early phase of COVID-19, from November 2020 to January 2021. The subjects were field workers still working during the pandemic, with a minimum working period of 1 year, and who were not treated for mental illness during the research. Data on the subjects’ symptoms were collected using the PTSD Check List–Civilian Version.
Results:
A total of 1,542 completed forms were analyzed. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was 44.8% with 9.1% of very severe forms. Independent factors associated with PTSD symptoms were female gender (p=0.013, OR 1.72 [95%IC 1.12– 2.63]), change in work system (p=0.006, OR 1.37 [95%IC 1.09 – 1.71]), increased workload (p<0.001, OR 2.10 [95%IC 1.63– 2.71]), and decreased income (p=0.041, OR 1.44 [95%IC 1.02– 2.05]).
Conclusions:
The COVID-19 crisis was a stressor causing a high prevalence of PTSD symptoms among oil and gas companies’ workers. Implementing mental health programs is required to prevent and manage work-related stress and severe disruptions due to pandemic-related work system changes.
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