Traumatic Stress, Psychological Well-being, and Sociodemographic Correlates in High-stress Environments among Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare staff provide crucial services to their patients; hence, their well-being is essential to ensure they offer the best services with minimal harm to their health.

This study aimed to identify associations of traumatic stress, psychological well-being, and sociodemographic variables to provide insight into the experiences and feelings of healthcare personnel in high-stress settings. Furthermore, we will examine how sociodemographic factors and traumatic stress impact the psychological well-being of high-stress environment healthcare professionals.

This research investigated the relationship between traumatic stress, psychological well-being, and sociodemographic factors in high-stress environments among healthcare personnel in different medical units. It was hypothesized that sociodemographic variables and traumatic stress will predict psychological well-being among healthcare workers who work in high-stress environments. Furthermore, there will be differences in traumatic stress and psychological well-being based on sociodemographic variables among healthcare workers working in high-stress environments.

To accomplish this goal, an online survey including sociodemographic information, standardized questionnaires of Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and a Brief Inventory of Thriving were administered to healthcare personnel (N=290) to collect data for sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic stress levels, and psychological well-being. The results were processed by using SPSS. The descriptive statistics measured participants' characteristics, traumatic stress levels, and psychological well-being. The pearson product-moment correlation, regression analysis, and ANOVA were used to measure the relationship and impact of sociodemographic factors, traumatic stress, and psychological well-being.

A significant inverse relationship between traumatic stress and psychological well-being (r= -0.518, p < 0.05) was reported. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis provided the predictive association of traumatic stress and negative well-being (p<0.05). Additionally, ANOVA was conducted to measure the differences in socio- demographic variables of traumatic stress and the psychological well-being level of healthcare professionals.

The results of this research could help inform policy decisions and interventions that may improve the psychological well-being of healthcare personnel in high-stress environments. Ethical considerations such as participant privacy protection and addressing potential psychological distress are also discussed.