Post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout and their impact on global functioning in Italian emergency healthcare workers.

Background Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Burnout are severe and frequent conditions among emergency healthcare workers exposed to repeated workrelated traumatic experiences. The aim of the present study was to investigate PTSD, Burnout and global functioning in a sample of emergency healthcare workers (HCWs) of a major University Hospital of Italy, exploring possible correlations between the two constructs. Methods The study sample included 137 medical and nursing Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit staff of a major University Hospital in Italy (Pisa), all assessed by means of the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report (TALS-SR), for post-traumatic stress spectrum, the Professional Quality of Life Scale - Revision IV (ProQOL R-IV), for Burnout related to work activities, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS), for global functioning. Results Fourty-nine subjects reported a full (18, 14.3%) or partial (31, 24.6%) symptomatological DSM-5 PTSD. HCWs with PTSD reported significantly higher Burnout scores and global functioning impairment compared to those without PTSD. Mean to good significant correlations emerged between the TALS-SR total and domains scores, the ProQOL subscales and the WSAS scores. Conclusions This work, conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, underlines a positive correlation between Burnout and Post-Traumatic Stress Spectrum symptoms in Emergency HCWs, showing the need for a deeper assessment of work-related posttraumatic stress symptoms in such population in order to improve the well-being and to prevent Burnout.