In addition to physical mortality, the COVID-19 pandemic has a broad psychosocial and emotional impact on all population groups. Medical workers in the hospitals are experiencing unprecedented physical and psychological difficulties. Guided by the principles of providing professional psychological assistance to health care workers and based on the analysis of international experience, the “FCBN” of the FMBA of Russia organized several forms of psychological support. The purpose of this study was to investigate the methods and results of psychological support to health care workers during the period of re-profiling hospital for patients with COVID-19.
The study sample includes 578 employees of the “FCBN” of the FMBA of Russia, covered during a weekly call; 25 of them participated in "social questionnaire"; 33 people completed the MBI and GAD-7 questionnaires; more than 30 people received personal or distant consultations.
The results of questionnaires show that employees reacted to the new conditions adequately. The average values of indicators on the scales "emotional exhaustion" and "depersonalization" for the group fell within the normal range for medical workers in Russia.
Investigation of effectiveness of different psychological methods shows that for supporting health care workers in the new condition, the most effective were personal consultations, and to identify the actual problems of work organization and building vertical communication between staff and management – weekly calls and ≪social questionnaire≫.
In conclusion, our experience has shown the importance of maintaining the functioning of psychological service to help health care workers in an emergency situation for the health system.
Psychological Assistance to Health Care Workers in the Conditions of Re-Profiling the Federal Hospital to Treat Patients with COVID-19
