Characterizing the mental health and functioning of Canadian respiratory therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant sociodemographic characteristics.

Variable		% (N = 218)
Age
	20–29	24.3%
	30–39	33.9%
	40–49	23.9%
	50+	18.0%
Sex /Gender Identity^a
	Female	84.9%
	Male	14.7%
Sex Orientation	Heterosexual or straight	87.6%
	LGBTQ^c	<5%
Marital Status
	Legally Married, Common Law, or Domestic Partnership	68.8%
	Single, Never Married	23.4%
	Separated, Divorced or Widowed	7.3%
Ethnicity^b
	Caribbean	0.5%
	East Asian	4.6%
	First Nations	3.2%
	Latin American	1.4%
	Middle Eastern	0.9%
	South Asian	1.4%
	Southeast Asian	1.4%
	European	87.6%
	Other	4.6%
Province/Territory
	Ontario	35.3%
	Alberta	19.7%
	British Columbia	17.4%
	Quebec^c	<5%
	Other province and territories^c	<5%
Education	College diploma (community or technical)	39%
	University degree (e.g. Bachelors, Masters, PhD)	50%
	Some higher education^c	<5%
Income
	$100,000 and over	50.5%
	$80,000 – $99,000	19.8%
	$60,000-$79,000	11%
	$40,000-$59,000^c	<5%
	Less than $39,000^c	<5%

^a The entire sample was cis-gendered. Sex and gender were collapsed to remove redundancy.

^b Participants were permitted to select multiple options.

^c The confidential cells are supressed (Brackstone & White, 2002).

Table 2. Participant occupational characteristics.

Variable		% (N = 218)
Occupational Setting^a
	Hospital	87.2%
	Acute	85.8%
	Acute Care Units	82.6%
	Chronic Care Units	33%
	Outpatient Clinics	18.8%
	Anesthesia Assistant	7.3%
	Rehabilitation	5%
	Community	15.6%
	Respiratory equipment vendor/Home O2 vendor	6.9%
	Primary Care/Long Term/Provincial Home Care	8.8%
Years Practiced
	Student^b	<5%
	0–5 Years	25.2%
	6–10 Years	17.4%
	11–15 Years	17.0%
	16–20 Years	12.8%
	21–25 Years	11.5%
	26–30	6.4%
	Over 30 Years	6.0%
Role	Staff therapist	80.3%
	Educator	16.1%
	Senior therapist/leadership	10.1%
	Management/Consultant/Sale	5.5%
	Student^b	<5%
Unit	COVID-19	71.1%
Patient populations^a
	Adult Care	96.8%
	Pediatric	53.7%
	Neonatal	50.5%
Employment Status^a
	Full-Time	68.3%
	Part-Time	19.3%
	Casual	8.3%
	Self-Employed or Unemployed^b	<5%

^a Participants were permitted to select multiple options.

^b The confidential cells are supressed (Brackstone & White, 2002).

Table 3. Descriptive statistics of psychological and functional symptoms.

Scale	Measure	Cronbach's α	Min-Max	M	SD
DASS-21
	Depression	0.91	0–42	12	9
	Anxiety	0.81	0–40	9	7
	Stress	0.86	0–42	16	9
PCL-5
	PTSD	0.95	0–74	23	16
MMD-HP
	Total	0.93	6–34	138	77
	Patient	0.87	0–96	42	23
	Team	0.89	0–185	57	41
	System	0.81	0–128	39	25
WHODAS
	Functional Impairment	0.89	6–26	11	5

Table 4. Bivariate correlations between negative psychological impacts and functioning.

	Measure	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	WHODAS	–
2	DASS-21 Depression	.536**	–
3	DASS-21 Anxiety	.481**	.601**	–
4	DASS-21 Stress	.468**	.740**	.642**	–
5	PCL-5	.505**	.663**	.648**	.669**	–
6	MMD-HP	.306 **	.369**	.465**	.432**	.570**	–
7	MMD-HP Patient	.248**	.274**	.303**	.349**	.426**	.784 **	–
8	MMD-HP Team	.327**	.365**	.496**	.407**	.573**	.936**	.655**	–
9	MMD-HP System	.259**	.270**	.359**	.358**	.437**	.840**	.482**	.695**	–

**Pearson's Correlation is significant at the p < .001 level (two-tailed).

Figure 1. Moral distress compared between COVID-19 units.

Brackstone, G., & White, P. (2002, August 11–15). Data stewardship at statistics Canada. Joint statistical meetings of the American Statistical Association. New York. http://ww2.amstat.org/sections/SRMS/Proceedings/y2002/Files/JSM2002-000460.pdf

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Data availability statement

The data used in this study come from the McKinnon Trauma and Recovery Research Unit at McMaster University. All interested researchers may apply for access to these data through online application subject to review by the Data Access Committee, ethics approval, and signing of a data sharing agreement. Data are provided only once a data sharing agreement is in place between McMaster University (the custodian of the data) and the researchers’ institution. For more information about data access please contact https://www.thetraumaandrecoverylab.com/contact.