Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-m259h Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-14T06:10:53.639Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The role of psychosocial stressors in PTSD development among medical staff in Ukraine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

K. Golonka
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
S. Tukaiev*
Affiliation:
Institute of High Technologies, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
J. M. A. Ferreira
Affiliation:
Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
B. Palamar
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv, Ukraine
K. Sitnik-Warchulska
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
D. Fortuna
Affiliation:
Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been documented in war-affected populations. A third of Ukrainians met diagnostic requirements for PTSD according to the UN, but the information on the mental health of medical staff is still insufficient. Well-known increased risk of mental disorder is the result of traumatic experiences in healthcare workers as part of their professional duties.

Objectives

Based on this we aimed to analyze the potential sources of traumatic experience at work and the severity of PTSD and depression symptoms among medical staff in war condition.

Methods

The online and paper-pencil survey was conducted in November 2023 - January 2024. The study included a sample of 96 health care workers (doctors, nurses and paramedics). We used the structured interview on work characteristics of physical and psychosocial factors and standardized questionnaires on PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist; PCL-5) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) symptoms. Additionally the needed source of support to cope with stress at work has been investigated.

Results

The correlation and regression analysis allowed revealing patterns between potential sources of traumatic experience at work and the severity of PTSD and depression symptoms among Ukrainian medical staff. The results of the correlation analysis of physical and psychosocial stressors, depression and PTSD symptoms indicated that psychosocial stressors define PTSD development. There were detected job-related specific psychosocial stressors among medical staff in Ukraine leaded to PTSD and depression development: “Conflict in organization/community”, “Being threatened/abused”, “Lack of appreciation by the organization/community in which you work”.

Conclusions

The analysis identified the most important factors (psychosocial stressors) determining levels of PTSD in medical personnel at war. These data contribute to a significant debate on the negative role of job conditions at war for health care workers.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.