ABSTRACT BACKGROUND:

The COVID-19 pandemic has instilled fear and stress among healthcare workers.

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this study was to assess work stress and associated factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak and to evaluate whether prior experience of treating severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had a positive or negative influence on healthcare workers' stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN AND SETTING:

Cross-sectional survey in a tertiary hospital in Kaohsiung City, in southern Taiwan.

METHODS:

The survey was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire to measure the stress levels among healthcare workers from March 20 to April 20, 2020.

The stress scales were divided into four subscales:

worry of social isolation; discomfort caused by the protective equipment; difficulties and anxiety regarding infection control; and workload of caring for patients.

RESULTS:

The total stress scores were significantly higher among healthcare workers who were aged 41 or above, female, married, parents and nurses. Those with experience of treating SARS reported having significantly higher stress scores on the subscale measuring the discomfort caused by protective equipment and the workload of caring for patients. During the COVID-19 outbreak, frontline healthcare workers with experience of treating SARS indicated having higher stress levels regarding the workload of caring for patients than did non-frontline healthcare workers with no experience of treating SARS.

CONCLUSIONS:

Work experience from dealing with the 2003 SARS virus may have had a negative psychological impact on healthcare workers amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.