scholarly journals Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress in the front-line anti-epidemic medical staff during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Han Wang ◽  
Nan Yao ◽  
Yinpei Guo ◽  
Yingan Pan ◽  
Mengzi Sun ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Tanja Laukkala ◽  
Jaana Suvisaari ◽  
Tom Rosenström ◽  
Eero Pukkala ◽  
Kristiina Junttila ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unequally distributed extra workload to hospital personnel and first reports have indicated that especially front-line health care personnel are psychologically challenged. A majority of the Finnish COVID-19 patients are cared for in the Helsinki University Hospital district. The psychological distress of the Helsinki University Hospital personnel has been followed via an electronic survey monthly since June 2020. We report six-month follow-up results of a prospective 18-month cohort study. Individual variation explained much more of the total variance in psychological distress (68.5%, 95% CI 65.2–71.9%) and negative changes in sleep (75.6%, 95% CI 72.2–79.2%) than the study survey wave (1.6%, CI 0.5–5.5%; and 0.3%, CI 0.1–1.2%). Regional COVID-19 incidence rates correlated with the personnel’s psychological distress. In adjusted multilevel generalized linear multiple regression models, potentially traumatic COVID-19 pandemic-related events (OR 6.54, 95% CI 5.00–8.56) and front-line COVID-19 work (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.37–2.39) was associated with personnel psychological distress but age and gender was not. While vaccinations have been initiated, creating hope, continuous follow-up and psychosocial support is still needed for all hospital personnel.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Süleyman Cemil Oğlak ◽  
Mehmet Obut

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of caring with pandemic patients on health care workers who worked in the front line versus their collegues from the same institution who remained in their usual hospital  wards. Material and methods: This prospective descriptive study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic from June 25, 2020 to July 03, 2020. A total of 107 licensed registered nurses enrolled the study. 58 of them were front-line nurses and 49 of them were nurses remained in their usual wards. All participants evaluated by the vicarious traumatization (VT) evaluation scale. Results: The VT scores of the front-line nurses were significantly higher than those of the non-front-line nurses (p<0.001). When the domains in the VT score were evaluated, it was seen that the psychological responses and physiological responses of the front-line nurses were significantly higher compared to the non-front-line nurses (p<0.001). Conclusion: Medical staff working on the FL for Covid-19 patients had higher scores of vicarious traumatization compared to medical staff serving in their usual wards. The challenges of prolonged care of Covid-19 patients will put pressure on these professionals, and the leadership must emphasize the importance of medical staff mental health for the better control of the pandemic.


Author(s):  
Aysooda Hooshmand Imanloo ◽  
Hossein Sharafi ◽  
Fatima Rezaei ◽  
Ayda Hooshmand Imanloo ◽  
Farzaneh Barkhordari

Background: COVID‐19 has a significant impact on public health and poses a challenge to medical staff, especially to front‐line medical staff who are exposed to and in direct contact with patients. Medical staff were under enormous physical and psychological pressure due to overwork, high risk of infection, and isolation during COVID-19. Methods: The aim of this study was to review the literature on health problems of medical staff and supporting program for them during COVID-19 pandemic disease. Literature searches were performed on the following databases: Pubmed, Sciencedirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest, SID, Iranmedax and Magiran. The types of articles published during the outbreak that were relevant to the subject were searched. Results: A review of the literature showed that current research focuses on assessing several aspects of COVID-19-induced mental health in medical staff. Stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, burnout, fatigue and physical problems are among the serious issues of the medical staff in the front line of the Corona fight. Various demographic variables such as gender, occupation, long working hours, history of mental illness and psychological variables such as poor social support, self-efficacy were important risk factors. Conclusion: Regular screening of medical staff involved in the treatment and diagnosis of patients with COVID-19 should be performed to assess physical and psychological problems using multidisciplinary psychiatric teams.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Gómez-Salgado ◽  
Sara Domínguez-Salas ◽  
Macarena Romero-Martín ◽  
Mónica Ortega-Moreno ◽  
Juan Jesús García-Iglesias ◽  
...  

The health crisis triggered by COVID-19 and the preventive measures taken to control it have caused a strong psychological impact on the population, especially on healthcare professionals. Risk exposure, uncertainty about how to approach the disease, care and emotional overburden, lack of resources, or unclear ever-changing protocols are, among others, psychological distress risk factors for the healthcare professionals who have faced this dramatic scenario on the front line. On the other hand, the Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a competence that could help these professionals perceive the situation as understandable, manageable, and meaningful, facilitating the activation of their resilience. This work aims to describe the levels of psychological distress and SOC of healthcare professionals during the crisis caused by COVID-19, the relationship between both variables, and their health status. A cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample of 1459 currently active healthcare workers was developed. GHQ-12 and SOC-13 were used for data collection. Bivariate analyses were performed, including Chi-Squared Test, Student’s T-Test, Analysis of Variance—ANOVA (with Bonferroni test for multiple comparisons), and correlations. Cohen’s d or Cramer’s V effect size measurements were also provided. The results showed that 80.6% of healthcare professionals had psychological distress, and the mean score on the SOC-13 scale was 62.8 points (SD = 12.02). Both psychological distress and SOC were related to the presence of COVID-19 symptoms, as well as with contact history. Professionals with psychological distress showed a lower SOC. Taking care of the mental health of healthcare professionals is essential to effectively cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the psychological impact of working in the current menacing scenario, people on the front line against the disease should be protected, minimizing risks, providing them with resources and support, and fostering their coping skills.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e042752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsion Firew ◽  
Ellen D Sano ◽  
Jonathan W Lee ◽  
Stefan Flores ◽  
Kendrick Lang ◽  
...  

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with significant occupational stressors and challenges for front-line healthcare workers (HCWs), including COVID-19 exposure risk. Our study sought to assess factors contributing to HCW infection and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA.DesignWe conducted a cross sectional survey of HCWs (physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), non-clinical staff) during May 2020. Participants completed a 42-item survey assessing disease transmission risk (clinical role, work environment, availability of personal protective equipment) and mental health (anxiety, depression and burn-out).SettingThe questionnaire was disseminated over various social media platforms. 3083 respondents from 48 states, the District of Columbia and US territories accessed the survey.ParticipantsUsing a convenience sample of HCWs who worked during the pandemic, 3083 respondents accessed the survey and 2040 participants completed at least 80% of the survey.Primary outcomePrevalence of self-reported COVID-19 infection, in addition to burn-out, depression and anxiety symptoms.ResultsParticipants were largely from the Northeast and Southern USA, with attending physicians (31.12%), nurses (26.80%), EMTs (13.04%) with emergency medicine department (38.30%) being the most common department and specialty represented. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents met the criteria for being a probable case due to reported COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test. HCWs in the emergency department (31.64%) were more likely to contract COVID-19 compared with HCWs in the ICU (23.17%) and inpatient settings (25.53%). HCWs that contracted COVID-19 also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms (mean diff.=0.31; 95% CI 0.16 to 0.47), anxiety symptoms (mean diff.=0.34; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.52) and burn-out (mean diff.=0.54; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.71).ConclusionHCWs have experienced significant physical and psychological risk while working during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight the urgent need for increased support for provider physical and mental health well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Sheikhmoonesi ◽  
Maryam Rezapour ◽  
Mohammad Azizpour ◽  
Ideh Ghafour

Background: During coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, frontline medical staff were exposed to numerous psychological problems due to unpredictable conditions. A psychological intervention for medical staff is the provision of a group where emotions and feelings are shared. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the experiences of front-line medical staff about virtual Balint group. Methods: Eight sessions of virtual Balint group were held through Skype. Participants were the frontline medical staff involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. The group leader was a psychiatrist and an analytical psychotherapist. The group had two co-leaders, a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist. They were both experienced conductors who had a background of participation in Balint groups. Finally, eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were performed. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was carried out to analyze the obtained data. Results: Three themes were extracted, including the effects of Balint group, Balint group structure, and virtuality of Balint group. Each theme included several categories, and each category had some codes. Conclusions: Leaders in the Balint group were active and had a supportive role. Some participants did not share their faces, and this made others feel insecure. Body language is an important issue in empathy and understanding of others that is overlooked in virtual Balint groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 6023-6028
Author(s):  
Song Jian ◽  
Meng Ya ◽  
Feng Zehui ◽  
Zhang Qian ◽  
Ronnell D. Dela Rosa ◽  
...  

Objectives: To investigate the psychological state of front-line medical staff during the prevention and control of COVID-19, in order to provide effective psychological support and social intervention, and to provide reference ideas. Methods The research method was a cross-sectional research method. The convenience sampling method was adopted to select 156 first-line medical staff during the prevention and control period of the COVID-19. The online survey scale developed by the "Questionnaire Star" was used to investigate the psychological state of the first-line medical staff. Results There were significant differences in the overall status of depression, anxiety, and stress among front-line medical staff in terms of gender, education level, professional title status, children’s status, and working years (P<0.05); among the five dimensions of mental state, the fear and worry dimension scored the highest. The overall confidence dimension score was the lowest (P<0.05). According to Pearson correlation analysis, the overall confidence of front-line medical staff is related to the dimensions of fear and worry, hospital support, and psychological support (P<0.05); while fear and worry are mainly related to hospital support and psychological support (P<0.05). Front-line medical staff all have different degrees of depression and anxiety. The incidence of depression is 71.15%, and the incidence of depression is 30.77%. The incidence of anxiety is 74.36%, and the incidence of anxiety is 58.97%. Conclusion During the prevention and control of COVID-19, the psychological conditions of front-line medical staff are worrying. Therefore, it is advisable to formulate corresponding management and intervention measures to help medical staff survive the psychological crisis and ensure the smooth progress of the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.


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