scholarly journals Sleep and Safety Improve Physicians’ Psychological Functioning at Work During Covid-19 Epidemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Zupancic ◽  
Valentin Bucik ◽  
Alojz Ihan ◽  
Leja Dolenc-Groselj

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive healthcare crisis. To investigate what makes healthcare system resilient and physicians better at coping during a crisis situation, our study investigated the role risk exposure, such as working at COVID-19 entry points, sleep, and perceived work safety played in reducing negative psychological functioning at work, as well as their effects on adverse and potentially fatal incidences of compromised safety and medical errors.MethodsOur study included a representative sample of 1,189 physicians, from all 12 Slovenian regions and all medical occupations, as registered by the Medical Chamber of Slovenia. For the purposes of this study, a Questionnaire of Sleep and Psychological Functioning at Work was developed in the form of an online retrospective self-report. Additionally, our study included items assessing physicians perceived work safety and frequency of negative outcomes (compromised safety and medical errors) during the first month of the Covid-19 epidemic.ResultsPhysicians working at COVID-19 entry points were more likely to experience night awakening, slept less than 5 h per night, experience nightmares, and had lower levels of psychological functioning in comparison to other physicians. Both hypothesized models showed adequate fit. A higher score on the sleep scale (sleep quantity, sleep quality, and shorter sleep latency) has been shown to predict lower levels of negative psychological functioning at work and, indirectly, reduced incidences of compromised safety and medical errors. Contrary to our expectations, no significant direct effect of sleep on compromised safety and medical errors was found. When perceived work safety was added into the model, the model showed improved fit, with perceived work safety predicting better sleep, less negative psychological functioning at work, and less compromised safety.ConclusionSleep and safety both play an important role in reducing negative psychological functioning at work and, by doing so, decreasing the negative and potentially fatal incidents during the pandemic, such as compromised safety and medical errors. Further, research is needed to see how medical guidelines can be updated to ensure physicians sleep and that their safety is protected.

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A43-A44
Author(s):  
Michelle Persich ◽  
Sara Cloonan ◽  
Michael Grandner ◽  
William Killgore

Abstract Introduction Psychological resilience is the ability to withstand setbacks, adapt positively to challenges, and bounce back from the adversities of life. While the construct of resilience is broadly understood, the specific individual factors that contribute to the ability to be resilient and persevere in the face of difficulties remain poorly understood. We recently showed that psychological resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a number of factors, including fewer complaints of insomnia, and others have suggested that sleep is an important contributor. We therefore tested the hypothesis that sleep quality and acute sleep quantity would combine to predict measures of psychological resilience and perseverance (i.e. “grit”). Methods We asked 447 adults (18–40 yrs; 72% female) to report the number of hours of sleep obtained the night before their assessment session (SLEEP), and complete several questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Bartone Dispositional Resilience Scale (Hardiness), and the Grit Scale. Sleep metrics were used to predict resilience, hardiness, and grit using multiple linear regression. Results For resilience, PSQI (β=-.201, p<.00003) and SLEEP (β=.155, p<.001) each contributed uniquely to prediction of CD-RISC (R2=.08, p<.00001). Hardiness was also predicted (R2=.08, p<.00001) by a combination of PSQI (β=-.218, p<.00001) and SLEEP (β=.128, p=.007). Interestingly, worse sleep quality over the past month on the PSQI (β=.13, p=.008) in combination with more SLEEP the night before the assessment (β=.137, p=.005) each contributed uniquely to higher Grit (i.e., perseverance; R2=.03, p=.003). Conclusion Self-reported sleep quality and quantity were both independently associated with greater self-reported resilience, hardiness, and grit. While better sleep quality and more sleep the night before testing each uniquely predicted greater resilience and hardiness, a different pattern emerged for Grit. The combination of lower quality sleep over the past month followed by greater recent sleep duration was associated with increased perseverance. Whereas sleep quality appears to be more important for general resilience/hardiness, recent sleep time appears more important for the subjective perception of perseverance. Because these data are purely self-report and cross sectional, future work will need to determine the longitudinal effects on behavior. Support (if any):


2006 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Lawrence ◽  
Elizabeth L. Jeglic ◽  
Laura T. Matthews ◽  
Carolyn M. Pepper

This study examined gender differences in psychological functioning in a sample of college students who lost a parent to death. Male and female students ( n = 65) who had a parent that had died were asked to complete a series of self report questionnaires to assess psychological distress, feelings of grief and bereavement, and coping strategies. Overall, no gender differences were found between bereaved students on measures of psychological distress. However an avoidant coping style was related to symptoms of depression in females, but not in males. Students who lost a mother were more likely to report symptoms of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation as compared to students who lost a father. Future research implications and the clinical importance of these findings are discussed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254335
Author(s):  
Vrinda Prajapati ◽  
Rajlakshmi Guha ◽  
Aurobinda Routray

Inability to efficiently deal with emotionally laden situations, often leads to poor interpersonal interactions. This adversely affects the individual’s psychological functioning. A higher trait emotional intelligence (EI) is not only associated with psychological wellbeing, educational attainment, and job-related success, but also with willingness to seek professional and non-professional help for personal-emotional problems, depression and suicidal ideation. Thus, it is important to identify low (EI) individuals who are more prone to mental health problems than their high EI counterparts, and give them the appropriate EI training, which will aid in preventing the onset of various mood related disorders. Since people may be unaware of their level of EI/emotional skills or may tend to fake responses in self-report questionnaires in high stake situations, a system that assesses EI using physiological measures can prove affective. We present a multimodal method for detecting the level of trait Emotional intelligence using non-contact based autonomic sensors. To our knowledge, this is the first work to predict emotional intelligence level from physiological/autonomic (cardiac and respiratory) response patterns to emotions. Trait EI of 50 users was measured using Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) along with their cardiovascular and respiratory data, which was recorded using FMCW radar sensor both at baseline and while viewing affective movie clips. We first examine relationships between users’ Trait EI scores and autonomic response and reactivity to the clips. Our analysis suggests a significant relationship between EI and autonomic response and reactivity. We finally attempt binary EI level detection using linear SVM. We also attempt to classify each sub factor of EI, namely–perception of emotion, managing own emotions, managing other’s emotions, and utilization of emotions. The proposed method achieves an EI classification accuracy of 84%, while accuracies ranging from 58 to 76% is achieved for recognition of the sub factors. This is the first step towards identifying EI of an individual purely through physiological responses. Limitation and future directions are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsofia P. Cohen ◽  
Kelly T. Cosgrove ◽  
Danielle C. DeVille ◽  
Elisabeth Akeman ◽  
Manpreet K. Singh ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on far-reaching consequences for adolescents. Adolescents with early life stress (ELS) may be at particular risk. We sought to examine how COVID-19 impacted psychological functioning in a sample of healthy and ELS-exposed adolescents during the pandemic.Methods: A total of 24 adolescents (15 healthy, nine ELS) completed self-report measures prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of depression and anxiety were explored using linear mixed-effect analyses.Results: With the onset of the pandemic, healthy but not ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced increased symptoms of depression and anxiety (ps < 0.05). Coping by talking with friends and prioritizing sleep had a protective effect against anxiety for healthy adolescents (t = −3.76, p = 0.002).Conclusions: On average, this study demonstrated large increases in depression and anxiety in adolescents who were healthy prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced high but stable symptoms over time.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Bidzan ◽  
Ilona Bidzan-Bluma ◽  
Aleksandra Szulman-Wardal ◽  
Marcus Stueck ◽  
Mariola Bidzan

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in the hospital staff, as well as to identify protective factors of COVID-19 anxiety once the coronavirus pandemic was announced in Poland.Methods90 healthcare workers from the hospital in Poland completed validated self-report questionnaires assessing self-efficacy, emotional control, and PTSD symptoms; a questionnaire assessing COVID-19 anxiety; and a socio-demographic questionnaire. A multiple linear regression was conducted to assess the effects of gender, being directly vs indirectly exposed to patients, and general self-efficacy on COVID-19 anxiety.ResultsThe analysis showed that female (β = −0.271, p < 0.01) healthcare professionals indirectly exposed to patients (β = −0.336, p < 0.01) and those who reported lower levels of general self-efficacy (β = −0.295, p < 0.01) have a stronger tendency to experience COVID-19 anxiety [R2 = 0.301, F(3,89) = 12.34, p < 0.01].ConclusionThe findings show the importance of self-efficacy for dealing with COVID-19 anxiety. The internal coping strategies should be introduced to healthcare workers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 995-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICOLE ALLENDEN ◽  
PETER BOMAN ◽  
AMANDA MERGLER ◽  
MICHAEL J. FURLONG

ABSTRACTThis study investigated whether five positive psychological constructs (self-efficacy, gratitude, grit, hope and optimism) had a combined effect on levels of depression. The co-occurrence of these psychological factors, defined as an example of covitality, was examined in relation to predicting lower levels of depression. Participants were 278 retirees living in Brisbane, Australia. Each participant completed either an online or hard-copy self-report, related to positive psychological functioning. A standard multiple regression found that self-efficacy, grit, optimism and hope were individually all significant predictors of depression (small effect sizes); however, the combinatorial relation of all these four factors with depression was substantial (R2 = 0.34; large effect size). Gratitude was not a significant predictor. While no causality can be inferred from this cross-sectional study, having a combination of positive psychological factors might have an effect on levels of depression in retirement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 346-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki S Helgeson ◽  
Jeanean B Naqvi ◽  
Howard Seltman ◽  
Abigail Kunz Vaughn ◽  
Mary Korytkowski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Communal coping is one person’s appraisal of a stressor as shared and collaboration with a partner to manage the problem. There is a burgeoning literature demonstrating the link of communal coping to good relationships and health among persons with chronic disease. Purpose We examined links of communal coping to relationship and psychological functioning among couples in which one person was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We distinguished effects of own communal coping from partner communal coping on both patient and spouse relationship and psychological functioning, as well as whether communal coping effects were moderated by role (patient, spouse), sex (male, female), and race (White, Black). Methods Participants were 200 couples in which one person had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (46% Black, 45% female) within the last 5 years. Couples completed an in-person interview, participated in a discussion to address diabetes-related problems, and completed a postdiscussion questionnaire. Results Own communal coping and partner communal coping were related to good relationship and psychological functioning. Interactions with role, sex, and race suggested: (i) partner communal coping is more beneficial for patients than spouses; (ii) own communal coping is more beneficial for men, whereas partner communal coping is more beneficial for women; and (iii) White patients and Black spouses benefit more from own communal coping than Black patients and White spouses. Conclusion These findings demonstrate the benefits of communal coping across an array of self-report and observed indices, but suggest there are differential benefits across role, sex, and race.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 196-201
Author(s):  
Carly Harrison ◽  
Scott Ruddock ◽  
Susan Mayes ◽  
Jill Cook ◽  
Paul O’Halloran ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: In high-performance sport, the use of self-report measures is expanding. The exploration of wellness states in response to training and performance requires further investigation for professional ballet dancers and athletes. This study therefore aimed to: compare wellness scores between professional ballet dancers and athletes in training and performance; report frequency of self-reported modified participation during training and performance; and report frequency of self-reported inability to participate due to pain and illness in dancers and athletes. METHODS: Fourteen professional ballet dancers (mean 26 yrs, SD 2.6) and 14 sex- and age-matched professional athletes (mean 27.7 yrs, SD 2.9) recorded daily wellness (fatigue, stress, sleep quality and quantity), participation (full, rest, modified, or unable to participate) and activity (performance, training) into a wellness application on their smart phone over a 4-month period. Mixed factorial ANOVAs were conducted to assess the interaction between group (ballet dancers and athletes) and activity (performance and training) on the dependent variables (stress, fatigue, sleep quality, and sleep quantity). RESULTS: Stress and fatigue levels were higher for both dancers and athletes during performance compared to training periods. Dancers recorded lower sleep quantity than athletes, with no difference in sleep quality. Modified participation appears more common in dancers compared to athletes. Dancers and athletes were rarely unable to train or perform/compete over the 4 months. CONCLUSION: Self-reported wellness scores appear sensitive to activity type and can provide valuable information to guide intervention and recovery strategies. Further research on the impact of poor wellness on performance, illness, and injury in professional ballet is warranted.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
De Witt C. Baldwin ◽  
Steven R. Daugherty ◽  
Patrick M. Ryan

Abstract Background Concerns over patient safety have made adequacy of clinical supervision an important component of care in teaching settings. Yet, few studies have examined residents' perceptions about the quality and adequacy of their supervision. We reanalyzed data from a survey conducted in 1999 to explore residents' perspectives on their supervision. Methods A national, multispecialty survey was distributed in 1999 to a 14.5% random sample of postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2) and PGY-3 residents. The response rate was 64.4%. Residents (n  =  3604) were queried about how often they had cared for patients “without adequate supervision” during their preceding year of training. Results Of responding residents, 21% (n  =  737) reported having seen patients without adequate supervision at least once a week, with 4.5% saying this occurred almost daily. Differences were found across specialties, with 45% of residents in ophthalmology, 46% in neurology, and 44% in neurosurgery stating that they had experienced inadequate supervision at least once a week throughout the year, compared with 1.5% of residents in pathology and 3% in dermatology. Inadequate supervision was found to be inversely correlated with residents' positive ratings of their learning, time with attendings, and overall residency experience (P < .001 for all), and positively correlated with negative features of training, including medical errors, sleep deprivation, stress, conflict with other medical personnel, falsifying patient records, and working while impaired (P < .001). Conclusions In residents' self-report, inadequate clinical supervision correlates with other reported negative aspects of training. Collectively, this may detrimentally affect resident learning and patient safety.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 482-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Speltz ◽  
Kathi Morton ◽  
Elizabeth W. Goodell ◽  
Sterling K. Clarren

Twenty-three mothers and their 5- to 7-year-old children with craniofacial anomalies (CFA) who were assessed during the child's infancy were followed. Three types of CFA were Included: cleft lip and palate (CLP), isolated cleft palate (CP), and sagittal synostosis. Measures of child status focused on behavior-problem frequency and self-concept. Mothers completed self-report measures of emotional well-being, marital satisfaction, and social support. Results Indicated that (1) a sizable minority (18%) of the children with CFA had clinically significant behavior-problem scores shown in concordant reports by parent and teacher of behavior problems; (2) Individual differences In child functioning within the CFA group were predicted by observational measures of earlier mother-Infant interaction during play and teaching situations; (3) mothers of children with CLP reported less favorable social support than mothers of children with CP or sagittal synostosis.


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