scholarly journals COVID-19, healthcare workers and future mental health issues

QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 307-307
Author(s):  
Seamas C Donnelly
Author(s):  
Bachir Benarba ◽  
Adel Gouri

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus 2 or novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection pandemic continues to spread. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Wuhan (China), healthcare workers have been infected and are considered at high risk of contamination. Moreover, in addition to the physical effects of COVID-19, the pandemic results in important mental health issues among healthcare workers such as anxiety, stress, depression, and further nervous or mental disorders. Despite the increasing number of clinical trials aiming to develop vaccines or test antiviral molecules, till now no efficient anti- SARS-CoV-2 drugs have been validated. The COVID-19 pandemic led us to call for an urgent nutritional intervention model that should be established to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers. In the present paper, we suggest a safe nutritional supplementation of Mg-Zn- B vitamins (B1, B6, B9, and B12) in healthcare workers as pre-exposure and post-exposure new prophylactic treatments. Furthermore, the paper reports the scientific arguments and the possible mechanisms by which the Mg-Zn- B vitamins supplementation may exert its beneficial effects in the healthcare workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the Mg-Zn- B vitamins supplementation would enhance the immune response against SARS-CoV2, prevent inflammatory processes and oxidative stress, fight or alleviate the COVID-19-related mental health issues, or even reduce the replication. Each element of the supplementation possesses important and promising effects contributing to the possible efficiency of the suggested Mg-Zn- B vitamins supplementation in healthcare workers. Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Supplementation, Zinc, Magnesium, Vitamins B.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088506662110707
Author(s):  
Huseyin Duru

Background This study aimed to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on physical well-being and mental health of ICU healthcare workers (HCWs). Methods A total of 51 ICU HCWs working at a tertiary care hospital were included in this cross-sectional study conducted before (January 2019-January 2020) and during (January 2021-April 2021) COVID-19 pandemic. Data on sociodemographic and work-related characteristics, COVID 19 history and current mental health issues via Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale (HADS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), Suicidal Ideation Scale (SIS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were recorded. Results Overall, 62.7% of participants were nurses, heavy workload (working ≥200 h/month) was reported by 76.5% of participants and previous history of COVID-19 was confirmed by 62.7%. Current mental health issues involved poor sleep quality in majority (96.1%) of participants, anxiety (51.0%), depression (51.0%) in at least half of them and a moderate degree of emotional exhaustion Heavy workload was associated with more remarkable decrease in sleep duration (median change: −0.5 vs. −1.0 h/day, P = .020), Vit B12 (median change: 60[−48-293] vs. −65[−371-262] pg/mL, P < .001) and Vit D (median change: −1.6[−13.1-20] vs. −9.7[−39.7-21.8] ng/mL, P = .004) during pandemic, while working hours per month were also significantly higher in those with versus without anxiety (264[150-390] vs. 240[150-264] h, P = .003) and with versus without depression (264[150-390] vs. 240[150-264] h, P = .037). Conclusion Our findings indicate high prevalence of mental health issues including anxiety and depression as well as poor sleep quality and emotional burnout among ICU HCWs, particularly those with heavy workload.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Shehar Bano Awais ◽  
Russell Seth Martins ◽  
Muhammad Shameel Khan

Summary Besides a global health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic has potential to have a severe and long-lasting psychological impact on frontline healthcare workers such as paramedics. It is imperative to shed light on these mental health issues and employ interventions to protect the mental wellness of this vulnerable group of healthcare workers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Domenicano

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency. As we write, the world counts more than 10 million positive cases and more than 500 thousand deaths. The difficult conditions faced by healthcare workers helping with the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to severe adverse mental health consequences.The aim of this review is to summarize and analyze the mental health issues that healthcare workers are experiencing during the COVID-19 outbreak. We conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the healthcare workforce’s mental health disorders. About 145 articles were retrieved for the period between January 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020. After screening, 27 articles were selected for full-text examination, 13 were included in the review. Of the studies included, 69% (9/13) and 61% (8/13) investigated depression and anxiety, respectively, although other mental health disorders such as insomnia, distress, stress, and fear were also assessed. Most of the healthcare workers in the studies reported high levels of stress, anxiety, and severe symptoms of depressions.Caregivers are working under high levels of pressure, in a high-risk environment, and are dealing with many physical and psychological challenges. Appropriate actions and well-timed psychological support to protect medical workers’ mental health should be considered.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Jorge Villalba-Arias ◽  
Gladys Estigarribia ◽  
José Andrés Bogado ◽  
Julieta Méndez ◽  
Santiago Toledo ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Zace ◽  
I Hoxhaj ◽  
A Orfino ◽  
A M Viteritti ◽  
L Silvetti ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Extended evidence has established that healthcare workers face several mental health problems during a disease outbreak, which could have a long-term impact. To address these issues, elaboration and implementation of psychological/psychiatric interventions or strategies is of utmost importance. In this context, this systematic review aimed at identifying strategies to manage mental health issues in healthcare workers during infectious disease outbreaks. Methods PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and Web of Science were searched to retrieve pertinent articles published in English until May 2020. Articles reporting measures, interventions, strategies, or recommendations to manage mental health problems in healthcare workers during an infectious disease outbreak, of any study design were included. The quality assessment was performed according to the study design of the included articles. Results Our search strategy produced a total of 2358 articles. After the screening process 33 articles met the inclusion criteria, addressing COVID-19 (40%), followed by SARS (21%) and Ebola Virus (15%). The findings emphasized that organisations should follow an evidence-based approach and establish comprehensive programs to assist hospital staff during disease outbreaks. The preliminary results show that the creation of a psychological response team, training, e-learning, courses, psychosocial counselling, screening instruments and telemedicine activities could improve the capacity of response and coping, and reduce mental health issues in healthcare workers. Conclusions To minimize the psychological impact of future infectious disease outbreaks, evidence-based intervention strategies should be implemented to retain mental health among healthcare workers. Our results may provide the necessary insights that could be applied during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key messages During infectious disease outbreaks healthcare workers are faced with mental health issues, that need to be addressed through tailored interventions offering coping strategies and increase resilience. Mental health related interventions or strategies include the implementation of professional training, psychosocial counselling, courses, and the creation of a psychological response team.


2020 ◽  
pp. 142-145
Author(s):  
Pooja Malhotra ◽  
Jashandeep Singh

Introduction: The novel corona virus (COVID-19), a pandemic, spread to around 198 countries, and has affected millions of people globally. The associated morbidity and mortality challenged the nations in several ways. One such unaddressed area is the mental health impact on the healthcare workers and staff during this pandemic. The review aims at summarizing the evidence of mental health issues of COVID-19 pandemic on the frontline healthcare workers (HCW’s). Materials and methods: A review of the literature of the mental health issues faced by the healthcare workers during the pandemic was done. Literature search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase; articles relevant to the subject, in the duration of last 8 months (Jan-2020 to Aug-2020) were reviewed. We have highlighted the most relevant data concerning the disease characteristics, personal and organizational factors that may have contributed to development of psychological changes, distress and mental health symptoms. Results: There is a generalized climate of wariness and uncertainty, particularly amongst the health professionals, which has been provoked by the disease characteristics of the current COVID-19 pandemic and various sociodemographic variables. Other factors included, rapid spread of disease, severity of symptoms, lack of knowledge of the disease, organizational factors and death among healthcare professionals. The mental health problems varied with respect to the sociodemographic variables like, gender, profession, age, place of work, social support and department of work. Evidence suggests that COVID-19 may be an independent risk factor for increase in stress, anxiety, burnout and depression amongst the healthcare professionals, which could have long-term psychological implications. Conclusion: It is of utmost importance to protect and ensure the mental health of the healthcare professionals, to address large scale health crisis. Therefore, planning of future prevention strategies is essential to promote mental well-being. Implementation to bolster response and prevention strategies by training healthcare professionals on crisis management and mental help. Evaluation of mental health status should be done by regular screening of the personnel by the multidisciplinary Psychiatry teams.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 791-795
Author(s):  
Sonja Cabarkapa ◽  
Joel A King ◽  
Chee H Ng

Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a vulnerable population who have been exposed to high work-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the high risk of infection and excessive workloads. HCWs are at greater risk of mental illness, particularly sleep disturbances, post-trauma stress syndromes, depression and anxiety. Objective The aim of this article is to highlight the psychiatric impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline HCWs, the need for screening and early diagnosis by general practitioners (GPs), and the appropriate psychosocial strategies and treatments to address this. Discussion Opportunistic screening for mental health issues among HCWs is especially important during the current pandemic. Various tools and strategies can be used for efficient assessment and treatment of the common mental health issues HCWs are likely to face.


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