Post-hoc analysis of a cross-sectional nationwide survey assessing psychological distress in electroencephalography technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: Qualitative and quantitative text analysis of open-ended response data

抄録

Purpose: To identify stressors among EEG technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine how these differed for groups previously identified to be at higher risk of psychological distress: female workers and those with a decrease in their salary/bonus.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 173 clinical neurophysiology technicians from March to April 2021. Stressors were compared between male and female sexes and between three groups with different salary/bonus changes (Down/No-change/Up). The study involved qualitative/quantitative analyses of open-ended responses to a question about stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results: Of the 142 respondents, 128 were included in the analyses. The results indicated that the words "infection" and "prevention" were characteristic of the males, while the words "patients," "anxiety," and "examination" were characteristic of the females. There was a significantly stronger connection between the words "patients" and "anxiety" in the females. For groups with different salary/bonus changes, the word "examination" was characteristic of the Down group, the word “infection” was characteristic of the No-change and Up groups, and the word “prevention” was characteristic of the Up group. The connection between the words "infection" and "examination" differed between the three groups.

Conclusion: Our results provide new insight into the factors that can increase stress among EEG technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings may contribute to improving the work environment to optimize mental health.