The research, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, was conducted as part of a study to establish a more accurate prevalence of mental disorders within the NHS workforce. The study also found that 1-in-5 HCWs met the threshold for diagnosable illnesses like depression and anxiety.

Researchers recruited participants from the NHS CHECK study, the UK's largest survey of the mental health and wellbeing of all NHS staff during COVID-19. Over 23,000 participants completed commonly used self-report measures which look for symptoms of common mental disorders (CMDs) like depression and anxiety as well as PTSD. This particular study reported on diagnostic interviews with two smaller groups of HCWs, which were broadly representative of NHS staff overall in terms of ethnicity, age, sex and clinical role. 243 participants were surveyed to establish the prevalence of CMDs, while a further 94 helped to establish PTSD prevalence.

While there have been many studies of the mental health of HCWs, especially since the pandemic, the vast majority of these have relied on self-reported screening tools that often over-estimate prevalence of mental disorder. Most of these studies have reported highly elevated, and highly varied, rates of CMD and PTSD. In this study, trained professionals carried out interviews and assessed participants against diagnostic criteria which are considered the gold standard for accurately diagnosing mental disorders.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(22)00375-3/fulltext