How anxious were Quebec healthcare professionals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic? A web-based cross-sectional survey.

The survey was spread through professional organizations, email, and Facebook, so healthcare workers outside those networks may not have been reached. Occupational therapists, pharmacists, social workers, and nutritionists were not adequately represented, so the findings may not describe those groups. Of 557 people who answered, 131 were excluded for incomplete responses, leaving 426 analysed. 58% had worked in critical care, and the authors suggest this may have drawn in more distressed healthcare workers and inflated anxiety scores. Anxiety and avoidance intentions were self-reported, so people may have answered in a way they thought was acceptable. The items about intention and actions to avoid care were not validated. The survey was cross-sectional, so it shows associations at one time, not cause and effect. Different studies use different cut-off scores for this anxiety scale, so these scores cannot be compared as clinical anxiety categories.

Do not conclude that caring for COVID patients caused more anxiety. The survey found no association between caring for patients with COVID-19 and anxiety scores, and it did not show cause and effect.