Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals

Guven Arslan

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

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Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals

Guven Arslan

Published in International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 3)

Received: 4 August 2023 Accepted: 21 August 2023 Published: 31 August 2023

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Abstract

Introduction: Attention control is crucial for healthcare professionals. Anxiety and depression have the potential to interrupt attention resulting in medical errors. The literature lacks studies about the attention control of healthcare professionals. Our study aims to determine whether attention differs among healthcare professionals and to reveal its relation to common psychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: 170 healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. Online surveys containing informed consent, the Attention Control Scale (ATTC), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADs), and the demographic data form were delivered to the participants by e-mail. Responses were collected online. Results: The HADs scores revealed almost 48% anxiety and 60% depression in healthcare professionals. The highest anxious and depressive group was the doctors’ group. This finding may be linked to the higher responsibility of doctors on the patients. Correlation analysis showed negative correlations between psychiatric disorders and attention regardless of the subgroups of the healthcare professionals. A multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant impact of anxiety on attentional scores, rather than depression. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression may interfere with attention control which may result in medical errors. So, these disorders in health care professionals need periodical screening to prevent attention deficits and consequent malpractice and health care quality disruption. At this point, the attention control scale is a beneficial and practical test for the assessment of the attentional status of healthcare professionals.

Published in	International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11
Page(s)	23-28
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Anxiety, Attention, Healthcare Professionals, Malpractice, Medical Error, Health Care Quality

References

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[9]	Aydemir Ö, Güvenir T, Küey L, Kültür S. Hastane Anksiyete ve Depresyon Ölçeği Türkçe formunun geçerlilik ve güvenilirliği. Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi, 1997; 8 (4), 280-7.
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APA Style

Guven Arslan. (2023). Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 8(3), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

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ACS Style

Guven Arslan. Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2023, 8(3), 23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

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AMA Style

Guven Arslan. Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2023;8(3):23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11,
  author = {Guven Arslan},
  title = {Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {23-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  abstract = {Introduction: Attention control is crucial for healthcare professionals. Anxiety and depression have the potential to interrupt attention resulting in medical errors. The literature lacks studies about the attention control of healthcare professionals. Our study aims to determine whether attention differs among healthcare professionals and to reveal its relation to common psychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: 170 healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. Online surveys containing informed consent, the Attention Control Scale (ATTC), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADs), and the demographic data form were delivered to the participants by e-mail. Responses were collected online. Results: The HADs scores revealed almost 48% anxiety and 60% depression in healthcare professionals. The highest anxious and depressive group was the doctors’ group. This finding may be linked to the higher responsibility of doctors on the patients. Correlation analysis showed negative correlations between psychiatric disorders and attention regardless of the subgroups of the healthcare professionals. A multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant impact of anxiety on attentional scores, rather than depression. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression may interfere with attention control which may result in medical errors. So, these disorders in health care professionals need periodical screening to prevent attention deficits and consequent malpractice and health care quality disruption. At this point, the attention control scale is a beneficial and practical test for the assessment of the attentional status of healthcare professionals.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals
AU - Guven Arslan
Y1 - 2023/08/31
PY - 2023
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11
DO - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11
T2 - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JF - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JO - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
SP - 23
EP - 28
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2575-1573
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11
AB - Introduction: Attention control is crucial for healthcare professionals. Anxiety and depression have the potential to interrupt attention resulting in medical errors. The literature lacks studies about the attention control of healthcare professionals. Our study aims to determine whether attention differs among healthcare professionals and to reveal its relation to common psychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: 170 healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. Online surveys containing informed consent, the Attention Control Scale (ATTC), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADs), and the demographic data form were delivered to the participants by e-mail. Responses were collected online. Results: The HADs scores revealed almost 48% anxiety and 60% depression in healthcare professionals. The highest anxious and depressive group was the doctors’ group. This finding may be linked to the higher responsibility of doctors on the patients. Correlation analysis showed negative correlations between psychiatric disorders and attention regardless of the subgroups of the healthcare professionals. A multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant impact of anxiety on attentional scores, rather than depression. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression may interfere with attention control which may result in medical errors. So, these disorders in health care professionals need periodical screening to prevent attention deficits and consequent malpractice and health care quality disruption. At this point, the attention control scale is a beneficial and practical test for the assessment of the attentional status of healthcare professionals.
VL - 8
IS - 3
ER -

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Author Information

Guven Arslan

Department of Neurology, Acibadem Kayseri Hospital affiliated to Acibadem University and Acibadem Healthcare Institutions, Kayseri, Turkey

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APA Style

Guven Arslan. (2023). Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 8(3), 23-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

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ACS Style

Guven Arslan. Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2023, 8(3), 23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Guven Arslan. Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2023;8(3):23-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11,
  author = {Guven Arslan},
  title = {Anxiety, Depression and Attention Control in Health Care Professionals},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {8},
  number = {3},
  pages = {23-28},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20230803.11},
  abstract = {Introduction: Attention control is crucial for healthcare professionals. Anxiety and depression have the potential to interrupt attention resulting in medical errors. The literature lacks studies about the attention control of healthcare professionals. Our study aims to determine whether attention differs among healthcare professionals and to reveal its relation to common psychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: 170 healthcare professionals were enrolled in the study. Online surveys containing informed consent, the Attention Control Scale (ATTC), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADs), and the demographic data form were delivered to the participants by e-mail. Responses were collected online. Results: The HADs scores revealed almost 48% anxiety and 60% depression in healthcare professionals. The highest anxious and depressive group was the doctors’ group. This finding may be linked to the higher responsibility of doctors on the patients. Correlation analysis showed negative correlations between psychiatric disorders and attention regardless of the subgroups of the healthcare professionals. A multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant impact of anxiety on attentional scores, rather than depression. Conclusion: Anxiety and depression may interfere with attention control which may result in medical errors. So, these disorders in health care professionals need periodical screening to prevent attention deficits and consequent malpractice and health care quality disruption. At this point, the attention control scale is a beneficial and practical test for the assessment of the attentional status of healthcare professionals.},
 year = {2023}
}

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