Assessment of Mental Health in Healthcare Workers Involved in Care of Victims of the 2017 Las Vegas Mass Shooting

TL;DR

This study examines the mental health of healthcare workers who treated victims of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, finding that work-related stress is linked to depression and PTSD symptoms.

Contribution

The study is the first to assess mental health outcomes in healthcare workers responding to a mass shooting.

Findings

Work-related stress was significantly associated with symptoms of depression and PTSD.

Healthcare workers showed higher depression and lower anxiety symptoms compared to the general population.

No significant differences in mental health symptoms were found between critical and non-critical care workers.

Abstract

Mass shooting incidents (MSI) are single events injuring four or more victims, and they occur in the United States on average every 12.5 days. Studies have examined the psychological impact of MSIs on witnesses and surviving victims. However, the mental health of healthcare workers involved in the care of MSI victims requires further examination. We explored the association between work-related stress and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in healthcare workers involved in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.

Surveys were distributed to 170 healthcare workers involved in the care of victims of the largest MSI in US history, the 2017 Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival (58 people killed, 413 wounded bv gunshot or shrapnel). Fifty healthcare workers (29.4% response rate; 68% female), 29–71 years of age, responded to demographic questions followed by the Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Ed, and the Health & Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool, between October 15, 2022–March 15, 2023.

Results showed that work-related stress was significantly associated with symptoms of depression (BDI-II: P < .001, 22.9% variance; PHQ-9: P < .05, 20.5% variance) and PTSD (P < .001, 26.8% variance). No significant differences in symptom severity (work-related stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD) were found between participants involved in critical care and non-critical care (P > .05). In addition, healthcare workers reported higher symptoms of depression (5.18 vs 2.91, P < .001), and lower symptoms of anxiety (8.84 vs 22.35, P < .05) than normative data of the general population.

Healthcare workers reporting a higher risk of work-related stress were more likely to report more symptoms of depression and PTSD. Healthcare workers involved in critical and non-critical care reported similar symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and work-related stress. Moreover, healthcare workers involved in the care of the Las Vegas mass shooting victims were more likely to report more symptoms of depression and fewer symptoms of anxiety than samples of the general population. Given the novelty of this study, the unpredictability of MSIs, and the current limitations, we offer recommendations for future studies.