A Longitudinal Study on the Changes in Mental Health of Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Evidence on the within-person changes of healthcare workers’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic is absent. This study aimed to examine the within-person changes of anxiety in Argentinean healthcare workers during this pandemic, adjusting for main demographic factors, region, mental disorder history, and COVID-19 contagion. A longitudinal web survey (N = 305) was conducted during two time points of the pandemic, one of which was an infection peak. Anxiety significantly increased across time. However, there were significant interaction effects modulating anxiety levels. The largest anxiety increases occurred in healthcare workers who were wondering if they had contracted COVID-19 while symptomatic. Irrespective of the time point, anxiety was the highest in healthcare workers from a region inside the country who were wondering if they had contracted COVID-19, either asymptomatic or symptomatic. An interaction effect between the mental disorder history and the COVID-19 contagion suggested that the anxiety outcomes were mainly due to the concern about the COVID-19 contagion, rather than due to pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities. An increasing anxiety outcome may be expected among healthcare workers as the pandemic progresses. The uncertainty regarding COVID-19 contagion is a preventable and modifiable interacting factor to produce the worst anxiety outcomes among healthcare workers.

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Exploring Well-being of Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Protocol (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.32663 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jenny JW Liu ◽

Anthony Nazarov ◽

Rachel Alexandra Plouffe ◽

Callista A Forchuk ◽

Erisa Deda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Moral Distress ◽

Short Form ◽

Well Being ◽

Initial Time ◽

Long Form ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

BACKGROUND Healthcare workers (HCWs) have experienced several stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural stressors, including extended work hours, re-deployment, and changes in organizational mandates often intersect with interpersonal and personal stressors, such as caring for those with COVID-19 infections, worrying about infection to self, family and loved ones, working despite shortages of personal protective equipment, and encountering various difficult moral-ethical dilemmas. OBJECTIVE The paper describes the protocol for a longitudinal study seeking to capture the unique experiences, challenges, and changes faced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to explore: (a) the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of HCWs with a particular focus on moral distress, and (b) perceptions and satisfaction with delivery of care, and (c) how changes in work structure are tolerated among HCWs providing clinical services. METHODS A prospective longitudinal design is employed to assess HCWs’ experiences across domains of mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and well-being), moral distress and moral reasoning, work-related changes and telehealth, organizational responses to COVID-19 concerns, and experiences with COVID-19 infections to self and to others. We recruited HCWs from across Canada through convenience snowball sampling to participate in either a short-form or long-form online survey at baseline. Respondents to the baseline survey are invited to complete a follow-up survey every three months, for a total of 18 months. RESULTS A total of 1926 participants completed baseline surveys between June 26, 2020, and December 31, 2020, and 1859 participants provided their emails for contact to participate in follow-up surveys. As of July 2021, data collection is ongoing, with participants nearing the 6 or 9-month follow-up periods depending on their initial time of self-enrollment. CONCLUSIONS The current protocol describes a study that will provide unique insights into the immediate and longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dimensions of mental health, moral distress, healthcare delivery, and workplace environment in HCWs. The feasibility and acceptability of implementing a short-form and long-form survey on participant engagement and data retention will also be discussed.

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Factors in medical school that predict postgraduate mental health problems in need of treatment. A nationwide and longitudinal study

Medical Education ◽

10.1046/j.1365-2923.2001.00770.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 110-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 110

Author(s):

Reidar Tyssen ◽

Per Vaglum ◽

Nina T Gronvold ◽

Oivind Ekeberg

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Medical School ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems

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A Longitudinal Study of Mental Health in Emerging Adults

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000132 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 73 (3) ◽

pp. 135-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Monica S. Bachmann ◽

Hansjörg Znoj ◽

Katja Haemmerli

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Emerging Adults ◽

Poor Mental Health ◽

Need Satisfaction ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Consistency Model ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Cross ◽

Health Model

Emerging adulthood is a time of instability. This longitudinal study investigated the relationship between mental health and need satisfaction among emerging adults over a period of five years and focused on gender-specific differences. Two possible causal models were examined: (1) the mental health model, which predicts that incongruence is due to the presence of impaired mental health at an earlier point in time; (2) the consistency model, which predicts that impaired mental health is due to a higher level of incongruence reported at an earlier point in time. Emerging adults (N = 1,017) aged 18–24 completed computer-assisted telephone interviews in 2003 (T1), 2005 (T2), and 2008 (T3). The results indicate that better mental health at T1 predicts a lower level of incongruence two years later (T2), when prior level of incongruence is controlled for. The same cross-lagged effect is shown for T3. However, the cross-lagged paths from incongruence to mental health are marginally associated when prior mental health is controlled for. No gender differences were found in the cross-lagged model. The results support the mental health model and show that incongruence does not have a long-lasting negative effect on mental health. The results highlight the importance of identifying emerging adults with poor mental health early to provide support regarding need satisfaction.

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