Psychological Impact of a Pandemic Widespread in Healthcare Workers: The Italian and Swiss Perspective Early After of CoVid-19 Outbreak

Abstract Background. We investigated the COVID19-related psychological impact in healthcare workers three weeks after its onset in Italy and in Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland. All professional groups of public hospitals in Italy and Switzerland were asked to complete a 38 questions online survey investigating demographic, marital and working status, presence of stress symptoms and need for psychological support. Results. Within 38 hours a total of 3,038 responses were collected. The subgroup analysis identified specific categories at risk according to age, type of work and region of origin. Critical care workers, in particular females, reported an increased number of working hours, decline in confidence in the future, presence of stress symptoms and need for psychological support. People reporting stress symptoms and those with children declared a higher need for psychological support. Conclusions. The large number of participants in such a short time advocates for a high interest on topic among hospital workers. The COVID19 outbreak could have been and still be a repeated trauma for many health professionals, with risk of future psychiatric sequelae. It is of outstanding importance to implement short and long-term measures to mitigate impact of the emotional burden of this pandemic while at the same time dealing with its clinical challenges.

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The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Jordanian Healthcare Workers

International Journal of Reliable and Quality E-Healthcare ◽

10.4018/ijrqeh.289635 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 0-0

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Early Stage ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers ◽

Cross Sectional Design ◽

The Impact

Introduction: Healthcare workers face incomparable work and psychological demands that are amplified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in Jordan. Method: A cross-sectional design was used. Data was collected using an online survey during the outbreak of COVID-19. Results: Overall, of the 312 healthcare workers, almost 38% and 36% presented with moderate to severe anxiety and depression consecutively. Nurses reported more severe symptoms than other healthcare workers. And both anxiety and depression were negatively correlated with well-being. Getting infected was not an immediate worry among healthcare workers; however, they were worried about carrying the virus to their families. Implications for Practice: Stakeholders must understand the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers and plan to provide them with the required psychological support and interventions at an early stage.

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Mental Disorders Among Health Care Workers at the Early Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya; Findings of an Online Descriptive Survey

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.665611 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Edith Kamaru Kwobah ◽

Ann Mwangi ◽

Kirtika Patel ◽

Thomas Mwogi ◽

Robert Kiptoo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Early Phase ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Common Mental Disorders ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Care Workers

Background: Healthcare workers responding to the Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19) are at risk of mental illness. Data is scanty on the burden of mental disorders among Kenyan healthcare workers responding to the pandemic that can inform mental health and psychosocial support. The purpose of this study was to establish the frequency and associated factors of worry, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and poor quality of sleep among Kenyan health care workers at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: We conducted an online survey among 1,259 health care workers in Kenya. A researcher developed social demographic questionnaire and several standardized tools were used for data collection. Standardized tools were programmed into Redcap, (Research Electronic Data Capture) and data analysis was performed using R Core Team. In all analysis a p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.Results: 66% of the participants reported experiencing worry related to COVID-19. 32.1% had depression, 36% had generalized anxiety, 24.2% had insomnia and 64.7% scored positively for probable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Depression was higher among females compared to men (36.5 vs. 26.9%, p = 0.003), workers <35 years old compared to older ones (38.1 vs. 26.4%, p < 0.001), and those who were not married compared to those who were married (40.6 vs. 27.6%, p < 0.001). Generalized anxiety was commoner among workers aged <35 years (43.5 vs. 29.3%, p < 0.001), females (41.7 vs. 29.2%, p < 0.001), those who mere not married compared to the married (45.2 vs. 31.2%, p < 0.001) and those with <10 years working experience (41.6 to 20.5%, p < 0.001). Younger health care professional had a higher proportion of insomnia compared to the older ones (30.3 vs. 18.6%, p < 0.001). Insomnia was higher among those with <10 years' experience compared to those with more than 20 years' experience(27.3 vs. 17.6%, p = 0.043)Conclusion: Many Kenyan healthcare workers in the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic suffered from various common mental disorders with young, female professionals who are not married bearing the bigger burden. This data is useful in informing interventions to promote mental and psychosocial wellbeing among Kenyan healthcare workers responding to the pandemic.

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COVID-Well: Evaluation of the Implementation of Supported Wellbeing Centres for Hospital Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

10.20944/preprints202011.0375.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Holly Blake ◽

Mehmet Yildirim ◽

Ben Wood ◽

Steph Knowles ◽

Helen Mancini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Job Satisfaction ◽

Work Engagement ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Service Use ◽

Turnover Intentions ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Barriers And Facilitators ◽

Staff Retention ◽

Hospital Employees

Supported Wellbeing Centres have been set up in UK hospital trusts in effort to mitigate the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers, although the extent to which these are utilised and the barriers and facilitators to access are not known. The aim of the study was to determine facility usage and gather insight into employee wellbeing and the views of employees towards this provision. The study included i) 17-week service use monitoring, ii) employee online survey with measures of wellbeing, job stressfulness, presenteeism, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and work engagement as well as barriers and facilitators to accessing the Wellbeing Centres. Over 17 weeks, 14,934 facility visits were recorded across two sites (peak attendance in single week n= 2,605). Facilities were highly valued, but the service model was resource intensive with 134 wellbeing buddies supporting the centres in pairs. 819 hospital employees completed an online survey (88% female; 37.7% working in COVID-19 high risk areas; 52.4% frontline workers; 55.2% had accessed a wellbeing centre). There was moderate-to-high job stress (62.9%), low wellbeing (26.1%), presenteeism (68%) and intentions to leave (31.6%). Wellbeing was higher in those that accessed a wellbeing centre. Work engagement and job satisfaction were high. Healthcare organisations are urged to mobilise access to high-quality rest spaces and Psychological First Aid, but this should be localised and diversified. Strategies to address presenteeism and staff retention should be prioritised, and high dedication of healthcare workers should be recognised.

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To Work or Not to Work, That Is the Question: The Psychological Impact of the First COVID-19 Lockdown on the Elderly, Healthcare Workers, and Virtual Workers

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9121754 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1754

Author(s):

Silvia Andreassi ◽

Silvia Monaco ◽

Sergio Salvatore ◽

Gaetano Maria Sciabica ◽

Giulio De Felice ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

The Elderly ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Important Variable ◽

Referential Process ◽

Post Traumatic Growth ◽

The Impact

The spread of COVID-19 created a state of emergency all over the world and played a big role in the decline of the mental health of citizens. The context of the workplace became an important variable in the impact of the lockdown on individuals. In this study, we deepened the categories of healthcare workers (HWs), virtual workers (VWs), and the elderly, along with their emotional approach to this emergency. A sample of 257 participants (ElderlyN = 62; HWsN = 104; VWsN = 91) completed: a semi-structured interview on their experience during lockdown via telephone; an online survey with a sociodemographic questionnaire; the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (DERS); and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Linguistic measures of the Referential Process were utilized to code the interviews. An independent ANOVA explored the variability among groups. The results show more affective language in the Elderly (M = 0.0310, SD = 0.0070) and a growth in spirituality (M = 4.16, SD = 3.17). HWs displayed a higher PTGI (M = 56.84, SD = 20.29), while VWs displayed a lower PTGI (M = 50.02, SD = 21.05). Moreover, VWs presented higher scores in Impulse on the DERS (M = 11.67, SD = 5.05) and a more cognitive/abstract narration (Reflection IREF M = 0.0260, SD = 0.0071; Reorganization IWRRL M = 0.5419, SD = 0.0032; Referential Activity IWRAD M = 0.4978, SD = 0.0029). This study aims to take the work context into consideration to create focused interventions.

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Attitude of Jordanian Health Care Workers Toward Surrogacy

Journal of Family & Reproductive Health ◽

10.18502/jfrh.v14i1.3782 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rami Saadeh ◽

Nancy Abdulrahim ◽

Mahmoud Alfaqih ◽

Yousef Khader

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Negative Attitude ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

University Hospital ◽

Cultural Changes ◽

Commercial Surrogacy ◽

Care Workers ◽

Job Titles

Materials and methods: Three municipalities in Jordan were randomly selected, one from each region: north, south and central of Jordan. A total of: four public hospitals, three private hospitals, one university hospital, 40 health centers and 40 private clinics were included in the study. Healthcare workers in the selected facilities were randomly approached using a self– administered questionnaire to collect data. Distributions of attitude by gender, job title, and physician’s specialty were used to describe participants’ attitude toward surrogacy. Results: Responses of 382 participants were reported, of whom, 230 (60.2%) were females. Three in every four participants didn’t support legalizing surrogacy in Jordan. Majority reported negative attitude toward commercial surrogacy (85.1%) and noncommercial surrogacy (76.4%). Religious considerations were the main reason (71.1%) for the attitude toward surrogacy. Most items describing attitude toward surrogacy were significantly distributed across different job titles: nurses, medical doctors, and other healthcare workers (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Negative attitude among health care workers toward surrogacy was mainly driven by religious beliefs. However, there are core cultural changes in the community which might alter the attitude toward surrogacy in the future.

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Psychological impact of quarantine on healthcare workers

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oemed-2020-106587 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (10) ◽

pp. 666-674 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Esperanza L Gómez-Durán ◽

Carles Martin-Fumadó ◽

Carlos G Forero

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Acute Stress ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Psychological Support ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Emergency Plans ◽

Suitable Alternative ◽

Public Health Communication

ObjectivesExposure to infection is an inherent occupational risk for healthcare workers and may lead them to undergo quarantine during disease outbreaks. Both front-line battle and quarantine are stressful experiences that may make psychological support for healthcare workers necessary. Psychological support measures based on the best available evidence should be included in emergency plans worldwide. We summarise the research evidence on the psychological impact of quarantine on healthcare workers.MethodsWe retrieved 470 articles on the psychological impact of quarantine on healthcare workers from the Web of Science and included in this review all 12 articles that met our inclusion criteria.ResultsThe reviewed studies reported acute stress during quarantine and long-lasting depressive, post-traumatic stress and alcohol dependency and abuse symptoms. Healthcare workers fear infection for themselves, but more so for their loved ones, and are also concerned about the stigma that may affect their families, most especially their children.ConclusionsThe safety of healthcare workers and their families during disease outbreaks needs to be ensured. Suitable alternative accommodation and personalised monitoring during quarantine are useful intervention measures to prevent adverse effects in healthcare workers. Clear public health communication will help reduce uncertainty, guilt and stigma. Financial aid should be considered for the more severely affected workers. Finally, mental healthcare for healthcare workers should be a priority, as quarantines can be a mental distress trigger. The development of efficient referral paths and the provision of counselling or psychotherapy during the confinement period are an opportunity for early mental health interventions.

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Changes in Alcohol Habits Among Workers During the Confinement of COVID-19: Results of a Canadian Cross-Sectional Survey

Substance Abuse Research and Treatment ◽

10.1177/11782218211033298 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 117822182110332

Author(s):

Violaine Mongeau-Pérusse ◽

Elie Rizkallah ◽

Julie Bruneau ◽

Denis Chênevert ◽

Loick Menvielle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Alcohol Consumption ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Rank Test ◽

Alcohol Craving ◽

Care Workers

Background: The restrictions implemented around the world to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact workers. Emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors such as alcohol misuse are expected, particularly in vulnerable groups such as front-line health workers. In the present study, we examined if alcohol consumption behaviors in Quebec workers changed during confinement of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether healthcare workers reported specific patterns of changes. Methods: Data were obtained from an anonymous online survey conducted among adult workers aged ⩾18 years in the province of Quebec, Canada, between May 25, 2020 and June 26, 2020. Participants provided self-reported data regarding sociodemographic including field of work, as well as mental health disorders, alcohol use, alcohol craving, and type of alcohol consumed. Changes in alcohol behaviors were assessed using Wilcoxon signed rank test for categorial variables and paired- t tests for continuous variables. Results: The survey was completed by 847 participants (77.8% women), with 42.5% healthcare workers. Participants reported increased daily alcohol use ( Z = −10.60; P < .001, r = −.372) and alcohol craving ( P < .001, d = 0.485) during the confinement. Only the type of alcohol consumed during the confinement differed between health care workers and other workers (OR = 0.45, P = .003). Health care workers used less high alcohol products during the confinement. Conclusion: Our results show a significant increase in daily alcohol consumption and in alcohol craving during the confinement in the Quebec working population.

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COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among healthcare workers in Germany

10.1101/2021.04.20.21255794 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher Holzmann-Littig ◽

Matthias Christoph Braunisch ◽

Peter Kranke ◽

Maria Popp ◽

Christian Seeber ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Knowledge Test ◽

Health Politics ◽

Care Workers ◽

Vaccination Acceptance ◽

Vaccination Hesitancy

AbstractBackgroundVaccination hesitancy is a serious threat to achieve herd immunity in a global and rapidly changing pandemic situation. Health care workers play a key role in the treatment of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and in promoting vaccination in the general population. The aim of the study was to provide data on COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and barriers among healthcare workers in Germany to support health policymakers choosing specific vaccination campaign strategies.MethodsAn online survey was conducted among health care workers in Germany in February 2021. The survey included 55 items on demographics, previous vaccination behavior, trust in vaccines, physicians, pharma industry, and health politics as well as fear of adverse effects, assumptions on disease consequences, knowledge about vaccines, information seeking behavior and a short COVID-19 vaccine knowledge test.ResultsA total of 4500 surveys could be analyzed. The overall vaccination acceptance was 91.7%. The age group ≤20 years showed the lowest vaccination acceptance of all age groups. Regarding professional groups, residents showed the highest vaccination acceptance. Main factors for vaccination hesitancy were lack of trust in authorities and pharmaceutical companies. Personal and professional environment influenced the attitude towards a vaccination too. Participants with vaccination hesitancy were more likely to obtain information about COVID-19 vaccines via messenger services or online video platforms and underperformed in the knowledge test.ConclusionsIn conclusion, we found a high acceptance rate amongst German health care workers. Furthermore, several factors associated with vaccination hesitancy were identified which could be targeted in vaccination campaigns.

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Factors Influencing Australian Healthcare Workers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions across Settings: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines10010003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 3

Author(s):

Jessica Kaufman ◽

Kathleen L. Bagot ◽

Monsurul Hoq ◽

Julie Leask ◽

Holly Seale ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Information Needs ◽

Online Survey ◽

Aged Care ◽

World Health ◽

Sufficient Information ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers

Healthcare workers’ COVID-19 vaccination coverage is important for staff and patient safety, workforce capacity and patient uptake. We aimed to identify COVID-19 vaccine intentions, factors associated with uptake and information needs for healthcare workers in Victoria, Australia. We administered a cross-sectional online survey to healthcare workers in hospitals, primary care and aged or disability care settings (12 February–26 March 2021). The World Health Organization Behavioural and Social Drivers of COVID-19 vaccination framework informed survey design and framing of results. Binary regression results adjusted for demographics provide risk differences between those intending and not intending to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3074 healthcare workers completed the survey. Primary care healthcare workers reported the highest intention to accept a COVID-19 vaccine (84%, 755/898), followed by hospital-based (77%, 1396/1811) and aged care workers (67%, 243/365). A higher proportion of aged care workers were concerned about passing COVID-19 to their patients compared to those working in primary care or hospitals. Only 25% felt they had sufficient information across five vaccine topics, but those with sufficient information had higher vaccine intentions. Approximately half thought vaccines should be mandated. Despite current high vaccine rates, our results remain relevant for booster programs and future vaccination rollouts.

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The Prevalence of Psychological Symptoms in Pregnant Healthcare Workers (HCWs) and Pregnant Non-HCWs During the Early Stage of COVID-19 Pandemic in Chongqing, China

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.708698 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Min Liu ◽

Nan Li ◽

Xianghao Cai ◽

Xiaoyan Feng ◽

Rong Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Psychological Symptoms ◽

Early Stage ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Cross Sectional

Background: Studies showed that healthcare workers (HCWs) and pregnant women bore the burden of mental problems during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While, few studies have focused on the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on pregnant women who work at healthcare settings. This study aimed to investigate and compare the prevalence difference of psychological symptoms between pregnant HCWs and pregnant non-HCWs during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic in China.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey with anonymous structured questionnaires was conducted from February 15 to March 9, 2020. A total of 205 pregnant women in Chongqing, China were recruited. The mental health status was assessed using symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90).Results: Our sample was composed of 83 pregnant HCWs (mean age = 29.8) and 122 pregnant non-HCWs (mean age = 30.8). The results suggested the prevalence of psychological symptoms (the factor score ≥2) among all pregnant women ranged from 6.83% (psychosis symptoms) to 17.56% (obsessive-compulsive symptoms). Compared with pregnant non-HCWs, pregnant HCWs reported higher prevalence of psychological symptoms in 10 factors of SCL-90. After controlling the confounding variables, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that pregnant HCWs experienced higher prevalence of psychological symptoms of somatization (18.07 vs. 5.74%, p = 0.006, aOR = 4.52), anxiety disorders (16.87 vs. 6.56%, p = 0.016, aOR = 3.54), and hostility (24.10 vs. 10.66%, p = 0.027, aOR = 2.70) than those among pregnant non-HCW.Conclusion: Our study indicated that pregnant HCWs were more likely to suffer from mental health distress than pregnant non-HCWs during the early stage of COVID-19 pandemic. It is vital to implement targeted psychological interventions for pregnant women, especially for pregnant HCWs to cope with distress when facing the emerging infectious diseases.

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