Browsing by Author "Ntatamala, Itumeleng"

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    The Correlates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Ambulance Personnel and Barriers Faced in Accessing Care for Work-Related Stress
    (2022-02-11) Ntatamala, Itumeleng; Adams, Shahieda
    We investigated factors associated with increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in ambulance personnel and the barriers faced in accessing support for work-related stress (WRS). A cross-sectional study of 388 ambulance personnel used self-administered questionnaires to assess for PTSD and level of occupational stressors: Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Critical Incident Inventory, EMS Chronic Stress Questionnaire, SF-36 Quality of Life and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. The prevalence of PTSD in the study population was 30%. The participants were predominantly female (55%), with a median age of 38 (IQR; 31–44) years. PTSD was associated with smoking (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.05–2.95), illicit drug use (OR = 16.4, 95% CI: 1.87–143.86) and problem drinking (OR = 3.86, 95% CI: 1.80–8.23). A self-reported mental health condition (OR = 3.76, 95% CI: 1.96–7.21), being treated for a medical condition (OR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.22–3.11), exposure to critical incident stress (OR = 4.27, 95% CI: 2.24–8.15) and chronic WRS (OR = 4.46, 95% CI: 1.93–10.31) were associated with PTSD risk. Barriers to seeking help included concerns that services were not confidential and the negative impact on the participant’s career. The increased levels of WRS, strong associations with substance use and barriers to accessing care offer starting points for workplace interventions to reduce the impact of PTSD in ambulance personnel.
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    Sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with psychological resilience in South African healthcare workers
    (2024) Mcizana, Thandokazi; Ntatamala, Itumeleng; Adams, Shahieda
    Background: Psychological resilience facilitates adaptation in stressful environments and is an important personal characteristic that enables healthcare workers to navigate the challenges encountered in their occupation. To date, there is not much information available on factors associated with psychological resilience in South African healthcare workers. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, sociodemographic and work-related factors associated with psychological resilience in a group of South African medical doctors and ambulance personnel. Materials and Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study used secondary data obtained from two cross-sectional studies conducted in healthcare workers. This study investigated the factors associated with resilience as measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10. Inferential analysis was computed to assess the association between independent variables and resilience. Results: A total of 647 healthcare workers were included in the study, consisting of 259 doctors and 388 ambulance personnel. The healthcare workers had low resilience scores (27.6 ± 6.6) overall, with ambulance personnel having a higher average resilience score (28.0 ±6.9) compared to doctors (27.1 ± 6.0) (p = 0.006). Significantly higher resilience scores were observed for doctors: in males (p < 0.001), higher income earners (p = 0.020), current smokers (p = 0.012); for ambulance personnel: previous users of alcohol (p = 0.002). Significantly lower resilience scores were observed in participants with a mental health condition (doctors: p = 0.037; ambulance personnel: p = 0.010), being on treatment for a mental health condition (ambulance personnel: p = 0.029) and feeling the need to drink alcohol to manage work-related stress (doctors: p = 0.034; ambulance personnel: p= 0.048). Multivariable analysis confirmed that current smoker status (β: 3.52, 95%CI: 0.89 – 6.16, p = 0.009) and higher salary in doctors (β: 5.11, 95%CI: 1.46 – 8.177, p = 0.006), and previous alcohol use in ambulance personnel (β: 3.22, 95%CI: 1.10 - 5.34, p = 0.003) were protective against low resilience. Female sex (β: -1.77, 95%CI: -3.39 - -0.15, p = 0.032) and over-time work in doctors (β: -5.11, 95%CI: -9.42 - -0.80, p = 0.006) increased the likelihood of low resilience. Conclusions: Resilience was relatively low in this group of South African healthcare workers. The strong association between low resilience and individual and workplace factors such as female gender, lower income, high over-time worked, mental health status and substance use provide avenues for early intervention and provision of greater support to healthcare workers in low-and middle-income settings.