scholarly journals NHS CHECK: protocol for a cohort study investigating the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e051687
Author(s):  
Danielle Lamb ◽  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Matthew Hotopf ◽  
Rosalind Raine ◽  
Reza Razavi ◽  
...  

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on the working lives of healthcare workers (HCWs), but the extent to which their well-being and mental health have been affected remains unclear. This longitudinal cohort study aims to recruit a cohort of National Health Service (NHS) HCWs, conducting surveys at regular intervals to provide evidence about the prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders, and investigate associated factors such as occupational contexts and support interventions available.Methods and analysisAll staff, students and volunteers working in the 18 participating NHS Trusts in England will be sent emails inviting them to complete a survey at baseline, with email invitations for the follow-up surveys sent 6 months and 12 months later. Opening in late April 2020, the baseline survey collects data on demographics, occupational/organisational factors, experiences of COVID-19, validated measures of symptoms of poor mental health (eg, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder), and constructs such as resilience and moral injury. These surveys will be complemented by in-depth psychiatric interviews with a sample of HCWs. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted, to gain deeper understanding of the support programmes used or desired by staff, and facilitators and barriers to accessing such programmes.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for the study was granted by the Health Research Authority (reference: 20/HRA/210, IRAS: 282686) and local Trust Research and Development approval. Cohort data are collected via Qualtrics online survey software, pseudonymised and held on secure university servers. Participants are aware that they can withdraw from the study at any time, and there is signposting to support services if participants feel they need it. Only those consenting to be contacted about further research will be invited to participate in further components. Findings will be rapidly shared with NHS Trusts, and via academic publications in due course.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Lamb ◽  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Matthew Hotopf ◽  
Rosalind Raine ◽  
Reza Razavi ◽  
...  

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on the working lives of healthcare workers (HCWs), but the extent to which their well-being and mental health have been affected remains unclear. This longitudinal cohort study aims to recruit a cohort of NHS healthcare workers, conducting surveys at regular intervals to provide evidence about the prevalence of symptoms of mental disorders, investigate associated factors such as occupational contexts and support interventions available. Methods and Analysis All staff, students, and volunteers working in each of the 18 participating NHS Trusts in England will be sent emails inviting them to complete a survey at baseline, with email invitations for the follow up surveys being sent 6 and 12 months later. Opening in late April 2020, the baseline survey collects data on demographics, occupational and organisational factors, experiences of COVID-19, a number of validated measures of symptoms of poor mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder; PTSD), and measures of constructs such as resilience and moral injury. These regular surveys will be complemented by in-depth psychiatric interviews with a select sample of healthcare workers. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted, to gain deeper understanding of the support programmes used or desired by staff, and facilitators and barriers to accessing such programmes. Ethics and Dissemination Ethical approval for the study was granted by the Health Research Authority (reference: 20/HRA/210, IRAS: 282686) and local Trust Research and Development approval. Cohort data are being collected via Qualtrics online survey software, are pseudonymised and held on secure University servers. Participants are aware that they can withdraw from the study at any time, and there is signposting to support services for any participant who feels they need it. Only those consenting to be contacted about further research will be invited to participate in the psychiatric and qualitative interview components of the study. Findings will be rapidly shared with NHS Trusts to enable better support of staff during the pandemic, and via academic publications in due course.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e047909
Author(s):  
Jacqui A Macdonald ◽  
Lauren M Francis ◽  
Helen Skouteris ◽  
George J Youssef ◽  
Liam G Graeme ◽  
...  

PurposeThe Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) Study is a prospective investigation of men’s mental health and well-being across the normative age for transitioning to fatherhood. This includes trajectories and outcomes for men who do and do not become fathers across five annual waves of the study.ParticipantsAustralian resident, English-speaking men aged 28–32 years at baseline were eligible. Recruitment was over a 2-year period (2015–2017) via social and traditional media and through engagement with study partners. Eight hundred and eighteen eligible men consented to participate. Of these, 664 men completed the first online survey of whom 608 consented to ongoing participation. Of the ongoing sample, 83% have participated in at least two of the first three annual online surveys.Findings to dateThree waves of data collection are complete. The first longitudinal analysis of MAPP data, published in 2020, identified five profiles that characterise men’s patterns of depressive symptom severity and presentations of anger. Profiles indicating pronounced anger and depressive symptoms were associated with fathers’ lack of perceived social support, and problems with coparenting and bonding with infants. In a second study, MAPP data were combined with three other Australian cohorts in a meta-analysis of associations between fathers’ self-reported sleep problems up to 3 years postpartum and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Adjusted meta-analytic associations between paternal sleep and mental health risk ranged from 0.25 to 0.37.Future plansMAPP is an ongoing cohort study. Waves 4 and 5 data will be ready for analyses at the end of 2021. Future investigations will include crossed-lagged and trajectory analyses that assess inter-relatedness and changing social networks, mental health, work and family life. A nested study of COVID-19 pandemic-related mental health and coping will add two further waves of data collection in a subsample of MAPP participants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzy Winstone ◽  
Becky Mars ◽  
CMA Haworth ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Judi Kidger

Background There is mixed evidence as to the effects of different types of social media use on mental health, but previous research has been platform-specific and has focused on an oversimplified distinction between active and passive use. This study aimed to identify different underlying subgroups of adolescent social media user based on their pattern of social media activities and test associations between user type and future mental health. Methods Students from nineteen schools (N=2,456) in south-west England completed an online survey measuring thirteen social media activities and four psychosocial outcomes (past year self-harm, depression, anxiety and poor well-being) at age 13 years (October 2019) and repeated a year later (October 2020; aged 14 years). Latent class analysis using Mplus identified distinct classes of social media user. A bias-adjusted three-step model was used to test associations between class membership at baseline and mental health at follow-up. Analyses were adjusted for gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, social media screen-time and baseline mental health.Results A four-class model of social media user at baseline was selected based on fit statistics and interpretability. User types were labelled High Communicators; Moderate Communicators; Broadcasters; and Minimal users. Broadcasters at age 13 had the poorest mental health outcomes at age 14, with mental health and well-being generally better in the two Communicator groups. Conclusions Findings suggest that adolescents with high levels of content sharing – in addition to socialising and browsing online – are most likely to be experiencing poor mental health a year later. Recommendations regarding social media use should move beyond screen-time to consider different user types, and mental health implications of their engagement with different online activities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 3516
Author(s):  
Silvana Miceli ◽  
Barbara Caci ◽  
Michele Roccella ◽  
Luigi Vetri ◽  
Giuseppe Quatrosi ◽  
...  

Several studies evidenced increased elevated symptomatology levels in anxiety, general stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress related to COVID-19. Real difficulties in the effective control of time that could be responsible for mental health issues and loss of vitality were also reported. Prior literature highlighted how perceived control over time significantly modulates anxiety disorders and promotes psychological well-being. To verify the hypothesis that perceived control over time predicts fear of COVID-19 and mental health and vitality mediate this relationship, we performed an online survey on a sample of 301 subjects (female = 68%; Mage = 22.12, SD = 6.29; age range = 18–57 years), testing a parallel mediation model using PROCESS macro (model 4). All participants responded to self-report measures of perceived control over time, COVID-19 fear, mental health, and vitality subscales of the Short-Form-36 Health Survey. Results corroborate the hypotheses of direct relationships between all the study variables and partially validate the mediation’s indirect effect. Indeed, mental health (a1b1 = −0.06; CI: LL = −0.11; UL = −0.01; p < 0.001) rather than vitality (a2b2 = −0.06; CI: LL = −0.09; UL = 0.03; n.s.) emerges as a significant mediator between perceived control over time and fear of COVID-19. Practical implications of the study about treatment programs based on perceived control over time and emotional coping to prevent fear and anxiety toward the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 634-642
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ezzat ◽  
Yufei Li ◽  
Josephine Holt ◽  
Matthieu Komorowski

Background: Although the mental health burden in healthcare workers caused by COVID-19 has gained increasing attention both within the profession and through public opinion, there has been a lack of data describing their experience; specifically, the mental wellbeing of healthcare workers in the intensive care unit (ICU), including those redeployed. Aims: The authors aimed to compare the mental health status of ICU healthcare workers (physicians, nurses and allied health professionals) affected by various factors during the COVID-19 pandemic; and highlight to policymakers areas of staff vulnerabilities in order to improve wellbeing strategies within healthcare systems. Methods: An online survey using three validated scales was conducted in France, the UK, Italy, Mainland China, Taiwan, Egypt and Belgium. Findings: The proportion of respondents who screened positive on the three scales across the countries was 16–49% for depression, 60–86% for insomnia and 17–35% for post-traumatic stress disorder. The authors also identified an increase in the scores with longer time spent in personal protective equipment, female gender, advancing age and redeployed status. Conclusion: The high prevalence of mental disorders among ICU staff during the COVID-19 crisis should inform local and national wellbeing policies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ru Jia ◽  
Holly Knight ◽  
Holly Blake ◽  
Dame Jessica Corner ◽  
Chris Denning ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined the COVID-19 risk perceptions and mental health of university students on returning to campus in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn online survey was completed during the first four weeks of the academic year (October 2020) by 897 university students. The survey included demographics and measures of experiences of COVID-19 testing, self-isolation, shielding, perceived risk, mental health and indices capturing related psychological responses to the pandemic.ResultsWe observed higher levels of depression and anxiety, but not stress, in students compared with pre- pandemic normative data, but lower than levels reported earlier in the pandemic in other similar cohorts. Depression, anxiety and stress were independently associated with greater loneliness and reduced positive mood. Greater worry about COVID-19 was also independently associated with anxiety and stress. Female students and those with pre-existing mental health disorders were at greatest risk of poor mental health outcomes.ConclusionAlthough students perceived themselves at only moderate risk of COVID-19, the prevalence of depression and anxiety among university students should remain a concern. Universities should provide adequate support for students’ mental health during term-time. Interventions to reduced loneliness and worry, and improve mood, may benefit students’ overall mental well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Ping Guo ◽  
Qing Min ◽  
Wei-Wei Gu ◽  
Liang Yu ◽  
Xiao Xiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background More than 210,000 medical workers have fought against the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei in China since December 2019. However, the prevalence of mental health problems in frontline medical staff after fighting COVID-19 is still unknown. Methods Medical workers in Wuhan and other cities in Hubei Province were invited to participate a cross-sectional and convenience sampling online survey, which assessed the prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results A total of 1,091 responses (33% male and 67% female) were valid for statistical analysis. The prevalence was anxiety 53%, insomnia 79%, depression 56%, and PTSD 11%. Healthcare workers in Wuhan were more likely to face risks of anxiety (56% vs. 52%, P = 0.03) and PTSD (15% vs. 9%, P = 0.03) than those in other cities of Hubei. In terms of educational attainment, those with doctoral and masters’ (D/M) degrees may experience more anxiety (median of 7.0, [interquartile range (IQR) 2.0–8.5] vs. median 5.0 [IQR 5.0–8.0], P = 0.02) and PTSD (median 26.0 [IQR 19.5–33.0] vs. median 23.0 [IQR 19.0–31.0], P = 0.04) than those with lower educational degrees. Conclusions The mental problems were an important issue for the healthcare workers after COVID-19. Thus, an early intervention on such mental problems is necessary for healthcare workers.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135910532110127
Author(s):  
Jekaterina Schneider ◽  
Deborah Talamonti ◽  
Benjamin Gibson ◽  
Mark Forshaw

This paper reviewed mediators of psychological well-being among healthcare workers responding to pandemics. After registration on PROSPERO, a systematic review was performed in four databases and 39 studies were included. Worse mental health outcomes, such as stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety and burnout were related to demographic characteristics, contact with infected patients and poor perceived support. Self-efficacy, coping ability, altruism and organisational support were protective factors. Despite limitations in the quality of available evidence, this review highlights the prevalence of poor mental health in healthcare workers and proposes target mediators for future interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Gramaglia ◽  
Debora Marangon ◽  
Danila Azzolina ◽  
Chiara Guerriero ◽  
Luca Lorenzini ◽  
...  

The 2019-nCOVID pandemic as a public health emergency has faced healthcare systems with unprecedented challenges. Our study aimed to focus on the mental health impact of the 2019-nCOVID pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) from North-Eastern Piedmont, Italy. For this purpose, we performed an online survey which was e-mailed to HCWs at the end of the first peak of the pandemic. We involved both frontline and not-frontline HCWs, employed in the hospital or in healthcare services outside the hospital. The primary outcome of our research was the assessment of burnout, while secondary outcomes included the investigation of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. We observed higher levels of burnout (especially in the Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment dimensions), in females, in HCWs aged &lt;30 years, in those exposed to changes in their daily and family habits, in those who had to change their duties at work and in residents in training. In our HCWs sample we found lower levels of anxiety and depression than those reported in the literature. The problematic levels of burnout and adverse psychological outcomes observed during the pandemic cannot be underestimated. Given the recurrence in autumn 2020 of a new pandemic peak, which has once again put a strain on the health system and HCWs, it is supported the importance of a careful assessment of HCWs' mental health, and of the possible risk and protective factors both in the work environment and in the extra-work one.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 3298-3323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Poustie ◽  
Mandy Matthewson ◽  
Sian Balmer

This study investigated the targeted parent experience of parental alienation and alienating behaviors. One hundred and twenty-six targeted parents provided narratives in response to an open-ended question at the end of an online survey. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis framework was used to identify themes in the data. Six themes were identified illustrating targeted parents’ experience of parental alienation and alienating behaviors. Targeted parents described physical and emotional distance separating them from their child, emotional and financial costs associated with their engagement with “systems” such as legal systems and child protection systems. They described poor mental health and concern for their child’s psychological well-being. Targeted parents considered alienating behaviors to be a form of family violence. Additionally, targeted parents used active coping behaviors. It was concluded that further research is needed to better understand parental alienation. Mental health and legal professionals must collaborate to optimize support for targeted parents.


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