Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant psychological stress among healthcare workers. This study aimed to clarify the factors that influenced health workers' posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. METHOD: A total of 443 healthcare workers from eight Mental Health Centers in Shandong were recruited to attend an online survey. Participants completed self-evaluation measures of exposure to the COVID-19 environment and PTSD symptoms, as well as measures of potential protective factors such as euthymia and perceived social support. RESULTS: About 45.37% of healthcare workers had severe symptoms of PTSD symptoms. Healthcare workers with more serious PTSD symptoms were significantly related to higher exposure to COVID-19 (r = 0.177, p < 0.001), as well as lower levels of euthymia (r = -0.287, p < 0.001) and perceived social support (r = -0.236, p < 0.001). The structural equation model (SEM) further revealed that the impact of exposure to COVID-19 on PTSD symptoms was partially mediated by euthymia, and moderated by perceived social support, especially from others (e.g., friends, leaders, relatives and colleagues). CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that improving the state of euthymia, getting social support from others could alleviate PTSD symptoms among healthcare workers during the COVID-19.