Psychological impact in Healthcare Professionals during emergencies: the Italian experience with COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak imposed an overwhelming workload as well as emotional burdens on healthcare professionals (HCPs). In May 2020, an online survey was administered to HCPs in Italy to assess the pandemic’s psychological impact and to investigate possible predictive factors that led to individual differences. Female and younger respondents, especially those operating in northern Italy experienced more frequently negative emotional states such as irritability, anxiety, loneliness, and insecurity. However, positive feelings, first of all solidarity, were also reported especially by female and older workers. The majority of the negative as well as positive emotional states were experienced almost equally by both doctors and nurses, and independently of the operational unit in which they operated. Our findings can provide useful information in planning more tailored psychological interventions to support this category of workers.

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Dynamics of COVID-19’s psychological impact in the Czech Republic: Situation during spring 2020

E-psychologie ◽

10.29364/epsy.420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 40-59

Author(s):

Iva Stuchlíková ◽

Dalibor Kučera ◽

Tomáš Mrhálek ◽

Eva Potužníková ◽

Michaela Plassová

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Emotional Experience ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Age Groups ◽

Data Entry ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Emotional States ◽

Psychological Disturbance ◽

Czech Population

The study presents the results of a screening focused on the psychological impact associated with the outbreak and further development of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech population during March-May 2020. The aim of the study was to investigate temporal dynamics of psychological impact covering the first wave of the epidemic, i.e., first phases of the epidemic growth, culmination, decrease, and slow return to a normal lifestyle. The sample of 2716 respondents aged between 18 and 89 years participated in an online survey from March 18th to May 25th, 2020; part of them (typically seniors and others, who had not access to the internet) were assisted in entering the data by trained interviewers. The survey comprised questionnaires capturing emotional states, psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression. The changes in the scores by pandemic phase (time frame) were studied for the whole sample and for gender and age groups. The results show that the threat of COVID-19 caused a significant increase in negative emotional experience and in the symptoms of psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression in the Czech population in a time of infection culmination, even when the spread of the pandemic was well controlled, and then a gradual decline over time. The data indicated that the pandemic situation had a more pronounced impact on women and younger adults. The study also showed that in situations of pandemic stress associated with isolation, when isolated people are interviewed about their mental state, their reports on negative experiencing might be significantly reduced compared to direct anonymous self-reports data entry.

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Temporal dynamics of COVID-19’s psychological impact in the Czech Republic: from the outbreak to the stabilization

10.31234/osf.io/bjx8r ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Iva Stuchlikova ◽

Dalibor Kučera ◽

Eva Potužníková ◽

Tomáš Mrhálek ◽

Michaela Plassová

Keyword(s):

Online Survey ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Emotional Experience ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Age Groups ◽

Data Entry ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Emotional States ◽

Psychological Disturbance ◽

Czech Population

This study presents the results of a screening focused on the psychological impact associated with the outbreak and further development of COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech population. The aim of the study was to investigate temporal dynamics of psychological impact in a longer period covering phases of the epidemic growth, culmination, decrease, and slow return to a normal lifestyle. The sample of 2716 respondents aged between 18 and 89 years participated in an online survey from March 18th to May 25th, 2020; part of them (typically seniors and others, who had not access to the internet) were assisted in entering the data by trained interviewers. The survey comprised questionnaires capturing emotional states, psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression. The changes in the scores by time phase were studied for the whole sample and for gender and age groups. The results show that the threat of COVID-19 caused a significant increase in negative emotional experience and in the symptoms of psychological disturbance, anxiety, and depression in the Czech population in time of infection culmination, even when the spread of the pandemic was well controlled, and then a gradual decline over time. The data indicated that the pandemic situation had a more pronounced impact on women and younger adults. The study also showed that in situations of pandemic stress associated with isolation, when isolated people are interviewed about their mental state, their reports on negative experiencing might be significantly reduced compared to direct anonymous self-reports data entry.

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COVID-19 Related Distress Is Associated With Alcohol Problems, Social Media and Food Addiction Symptoms: Insights From the Italian Experience During the Lockdown

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.577135 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Angelo Panno ◽

Giuseppe Alessio Carbone ◽

Chiara Massullo ◽

Benedetto Farina ◽

Claudio Imperatori

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Online Survey ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Food Addiction ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Alcohol Problems ◽

Self Report ◽

Addictive Behaviors ◽

Italian Experience ◽

Negative Impacts

Background: Several scholars hypothesize that one of the most negative impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis would concern the increase of prevalence and severity of both substances and behavioral addiction. Despite the general concerns about the increase of prevalence and severity of addictions related to the COVID-19 emergency, few data are still available. Thus, the main aim of this study was to investigate the association between COVID-19 related distress and: (i) alcohol problems, (ii) social media addiction (SMA) symptoms, (iii) food addiction (FA) symptoms.Methods: A national online-survey was carried out during the Italian lockdown (i.e., 9 March 2020–4 May 2020). In the current study, 1,519 participants (365 men and 1,154 women, mean age: 28.49 ± 10.89 years) were included. The survey included socio-demographic related items (e.g., age, sex, residential regions, education level, civil status, tobacco use, etc.), as well as ad-hoc developed questions aimed to investigate COVID-19 related variables (e.g., isolation/quarantine, personal diagnosis to COVID-19, friends or relatives with COVID-19 diagnosis, etc.). Participants also completed the following self-report measures in order to investigate: the psychological impact of COVID-19, alcohol problems, SMA symptoms, FA symptoms, and impulsivity.Results: The psychological impact of COVID-19 was independently associated with alcohol problems (β = 0.058, p = 0.043), SMA symptoms (β = 0.259, p < 0.001), and FA symptoms (β = 0.150, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Taken together, our results seem to confirm the general concerns about the negative impacts of the COVID-19 emergency on addictive behaviors, suggesting that this issue should be carefully monitored.

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Speech-Language Pathologists' Perceptions of School-Based Services for Children With Hearing Loss

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/2019_lshss-19-00040 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 469-478

Author(s):

Sarah Allen ◽

Robert Mayo

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Online Survey ◽

Working Relationships ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

School Aged Children ◽

School Based ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Positive Feelings ◽

Children With Hearing Loss ◽

Perceptions Of School

Purpose School-aged children with hearing loss are best served by a multidisciplinary team of professionals. The purpose of this research was to assess school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) perceptions of their access to, involvement of, and working relationships with educational audiologists in their current work setting. Method An online survey was developed and distributed to school-based SLPs in North Carolina. Results A significant difference in access to and involvement of educational audiologists across the state was found. Conclusions This research contributes to professional knowledge by providing information about current perceptions in the field about interprofessional practice in a school-based setting. Overall, SLPs reported positive feelings about their working relationship with educational audiologists and feel the workload is distributed fairly.

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Evaluating the implementation potential of a transcultural tool for Tamil migrants with gestational diabetes mellitus living in Switzerland

Medical & Clinical Research ◽

10.33140/mcr.02.02.06 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Logistic Regression ◽

Gestational Diabetes ◽

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Online Survey ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Private Practices ◽

Populations At Risk ◽

Management Procedures

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus is a condition that affects many pregnancies and ethnicity appears to be a risk factor. Data indicate that approximately 18% of Tamil women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus. Today, approximately 50,000 of Tamils live in Switzerland. To date, there is no official tool available in Switzerland that considers the eating and physical activity habits of this migrant Tamil population living in Switzerland, while offering a quick overview of gestational diabetes mellitus and standard dietetics management procedures. The NutriGeD project led by Bern University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland aimed at closing this gap. The aim of this present study was to evaluate the implementation potential of the tools developed in the project NutriGeD for dietetic counseling before their wide scale launch in Swiss hospitals, clinics and private practices. Method: An online survey was developed and distributed to 50 recruited healthcare professionals working in the German speaking region of Switzerland from October – December 2016 (31% response rate). The transcultural tools were sent to participants together with the link to the online survey. The evaluation outcome was analysed using binary logistic regression and cross tabulation analysis with IBM SPSS version 24.0, 2016. Results: 94% (N=47) respondents believed that the transcultural tools had good potential for implementation in hospitals and private practices in Switzerland. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the age of participants had a good correlation (42.1%) on recommending the implementation potential of the transcultural tool. The participants with age group 34- 54 years old where the highest group to recommend the implementation potential of the transcultural tool and this was found to be statistically significant (p=0.05). 74% (34 out of 50) of the respondents clearly acknowledged the need for transcultural competence knowledge in healthcare practices. 80% (N =40) of the respondents agreed that the information presented in the counseling display folder was important and helpful while 60% (N= 30) agreed to the contents being clinically applicable. 90% (N=45) participants recommended the availability of the evaluated transcultural tools in healthcare settings in Switzerland. Conclusion: The availability in healthcare practice of the evaluated transcultural tools was greatly encouraged by the Swiss healthcare practitioners participating in the survey. While they confirmed the need for these transcultural tools, feed-backs for minor adjustments were given to finalize the tools before their official launch in practice. The developed materials will be made available for clinical visits, in both hospitals and private practices in Switzerland. The Migmapp© transcultural tool can serve as a good approach in assisting healthcare professionals in all fields, especially professionals who practice in areas associated with diet - related diseases or disorders associated with populations at risk.

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The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in Taiwan: An Facebook Online study on Concern/Fear Regarding the Disease and General Anxiety and Relevant Factors (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.21165 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peng-Wei Wang ◽

Wei-Hsin Lu ◽

Yi-Lung Chen ◽

Dian-Jeng Li ◽

Yu-Ping Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Online Survey ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Health Resources ◽

World Health ◽

Regional Government ◽

General Anxiety ◽

Self Confidence ◽

Health Organization

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a ‘public health emergency of international concern. Both worry and anxiety are the common psychological impact during the pandemic. The level of and determinants for worry and anxiety during COVID-19 are not well explored. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to explore the associations of demographic and environmental factors with worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety among people in Taiwan. METHODS In total, 1970 respondents were recruited through a Facebook advertisement and completed an online survey on worry toward COVID-19, general anxiety during the pandemic, and individual and environmental factors. RESULTS In total, 51.7% and 43.4% of respondents reported high levels of worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety, respectively. Worse self-rated mental health, lower self-confidence in COVID-19 management, and insufficient mental health resources were significantly associated with high levels of both worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety. Lower perceived confidence in COVID-19 management by the regional government was significantly associated with a higher level of worry toward COVID-19. Lower perceived social support was significantly associated with a higher level of general anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that high levels of worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety were prevalent during the disease outbreak. Multiple individual and environmental factors related to worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety were identified. CLINICALTRIAL

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Psychological interventions for managing postpartum psychosis: a qualitative analysis of women’s and family members’ experiences and preferences

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-019-2378-y ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Forde ◽

S. Peters ◽

A. Wittkowski

Keyword(s):

Psychological Intervention ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Family Members ◽

Psychological Needs ◽

Postpartum Psychosis ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Seeking Safety ◽

The Future ◽

Severe Disorder

Abstract Background Postpartum psychosis is a rare, yet severe disorder, in which early identification and immediate intervention are crucial. Despite recommendations for psychological input, little is known about the types of psychological intervention reported to be helpful. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences, needs and preferences for psychological intervention from the perspective of women with postpartum psychosis and from the perspective of family members. Methods Thirteen women and eight family members, including partners were interviewed. The data from these semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and inductively analysed using thematic analysis. Results Twelve subthemes were identified and then organised around three main themes: 1) Seeking safety and containment, 2) Recognising and responding to the psychological impact and 3) Planning for the future. These themes highlight the temporal element of recovery from postpartum psychosis, because women’s psychological needs and preferences changed over time. Emphasis was initially placed on ensuring safety, followed by a need to connect, process and adjust to their experiences. Additional needs were reported by women and family when planning for the future, including managing the fear of relapse and help to reach a decision about future pregnancies. Conclusion The results illustrate a range of areas in which psychological intervention could be delivered to facilitate and enhance recovery. Further research is needed to develop meaningful and effective psychological interventions and to investigate the most appropriate timing for this to be offered.

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Psychological impact in the time of COVID-19: A cross-sectional population survey study during confinement

Journal of Health Psychology ◽

10.1177/1359105320985580 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135910532098558

Author(s):

Carmina Castellano-Tejedor ◽

María Torres-Serrano ◽

Andrés Cencerrado

Keyword(s):

Chronic Conditions ◽

Population Survey ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Survey Study ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Community Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Young Females ◽

The World ◽

The Impact

The transformation that COVID-19 has brought upon the world is unparalleled. The impact on mental health is equally unprecedented and yet unexplored in depth. An online-based survey was administered to 413 community-based adults during COVID-19 confinement to explore psychological impact and identify high risk profiles. Young females concerned about the future, expressing high COVID-related distress, already following psychological therapy and suffering from pre-existing chronic conditions, were those at highest risk of psychological impact due to the COVID-19 situation. Findings could be employed to design tailored psychological interventions in the early stages of the outbreak to avoid the onset/exacerbation of psychopathology.

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Young adults’ coping strategies against loneliness during the COVID-19-related quarantine in Greece

Health Promotion International ◽

10.1093/heapro/daab053 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adrianos Golemis ◽

Panteleimon Voitsidis ◽

Eleni Parlapani ◽

Vasiliki A Nikopoulou ◽

Virginia Tsipropoulou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Young Adults ◽

Social Responsibility ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Online Survey ◽

Adult Population ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Daily Routine ◽

Cross Sectional

Summary COVID-19 and the related quarantine disrupted young adults’ academic and professional life, daily routine and socio-emotional well-being. This cross-sectional study focused on the emotional and behavioural responses of a young adult population during the COVID-19-related quarantine in April 2020, in Greece. The study was conducted through an online survey. A total of 1559 young adults, aged 18−30 years, completed Steele’s Social Responsibility Motivation Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and answered questions about compliance with instructions, quarantine-related behaviours and coping strategies. According to the results, participants displayed a relatively high sense of social responsibility (M = 16.09, SD = 2.13) and a trend towards moderate feeling of loneliness (M = 2.65, SD = 1.62); young women reported significantly higher levels of loneliness than men. The majority complied with instructions often (46.4%) or always (44.8%). Significantly more women created a new social media account and used the social media longer than 5 h/day, compared with men. Resorting to religion, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted higher levels of social responsibility; humour, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted lower levels of loneliness. Conclusively, COVID-19 is expected to have a significant psychological impact on young adults. Currently, Greece is going through the second quarantine period. This study raises awareness about loneliness in young adults during the COVID-19-related quarantine and highlights the importance of developing online programmes, attractive to younger people, to nurture adaptive coping strategies against loneliness.

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Sexual healthcare professionals’ views on the rapid provision of remote services at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study

International Journal of STD & AIDS ◽

10.1177/09564624211023018 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095646242110230

Author(s):

Alexandria Lunt ◽

Carrie Llewellyn ◽

Jake Bayley ◽

Tom Nadarzynski

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Sexual Health ◽

Health Inequalities ◽

Online Survey ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Digital Tools ◽

Future Research ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Remote Services ◽

Sexual Healthcare

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures forced sexual health services to engage with patients remotely. We aimed to understand perceived barriers and facilitators to the provision of digital sexual health services during the first months of the pandemic. Methods: An online survey and qualitative interviews with UK sexual healthcare professionals recruited online and via snowball sampling were conducted in May–July 2020. Results: Amongst 177 respondents (72% female, 86% White, mean age = 46, SD = 9), most utilised telephone and email as their main communication channels; however, their perceived effectiveness varied (94% and 66%, respectively). Most agreed that staff needed additional training (89%), the available technology was not adequate (66%) and health professionals were hesitant to provide online consultations (46%). They had positive attitudes towards digitalisation, improving service quality and cost-effectiveness but were concerned about exacerbating health inequalities. Discussion: The study identifies a need for clear guidelines and training around the use of digital tools as well as a demand for investment in hardware and software required for the provision of remote services. Future research needs to explore the acceptability, safety and effectiveness of various digital tools to narrow health inequalities in sexual health service users.

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