Impact of Perceptions of COVID-19 Related Risks on Partner “Social Undermining” of Healthcare Workers Through the Spillover Theory

The health emergency and pandemic at the global level was announced in the early months of 2020 due to the Covid-19 corona virus, and healthcare workers have had to perform their duties in risky circumstances. Consequently, the healthcare professionals are more vulnerable to being infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Hence, through the lens of the spillover theory, this study investigates the effect of perceptions of Covid-19 related risks on partner (spouse) “social undermining” via emotional exhaustion. Data was collected in two periods with one-week time lag from 237 healthcare professionals and their partners.Results revealed that perceptions of Covid-19 related risks increased partner undermining via employee emotional exhaustion. This study contributes to the literature of the current pandemic by investigating the impact of perceptions of Covid-19 related risks on healthcare workers’ close relatives. Hospital administrators and policymakers need to develop timely interventions to mitigate or minimize this negative spillover effect. Therefore, practical implications are suggested accordingly.

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Factors associated with emotional exhaustion in healthcare professionals involved in the COVID-19 pandemic: an application of the job demands-resources model

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health ◽

10.1007/s00420-021-01669-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Serena Barello ◽

Rosario Caruso ◽

Lorenzo Palamenghi ◽

Tiziana Nania ◽

Federica Dellafiore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Patient Engagement ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Job Demands ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Resources ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the present cross-sectional study is to investigate the role of perceived COVID-19-related organizational demands and threats in predicting emotional exhaustion, and the role of organizational support in reducing the negative influence of perceived COVID-19 work-related stressors on burnout. Moreover, the present study aims to add to the understanding of the role of personal resources in the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) by examining whether personal resources—such as the professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement—may also strengthen the impact of job resources and mitigate the impact of job demands. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 532 healthcare professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. It adopted the Job-Demands-Resource Model to study the determinants of professional’s burnout. An integrative model describing how increasing job demands experienced by this specific population are related to burnout and in particular to emotional exhaustion symptoms was developed. Results The results of the logistic regression models provided strong support for the proposed model, as both Job Demands and Resources are significant predictors (OR = 2.359 and 0.563 respectively, with p < 0.001). Moreover, healthcare professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement appears as a significant moderator of this relationship, as it reduces Demands’ effect (OR = 1.188) and increases Resources’ effect (OR = 0.501). Conclusions These findings integrate previous findings on the JD-R Model and suggest the relevance of personal resources and of relational factors in affecting professionals’ experience of burnout.

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Stress, Burnout, and Resilience among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Emergency: The Role of Defense Mechanisms

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105258 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5258

Author(s):

Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe ◽

Gianni Nepa ◽

Tracy A. Prout ◽

Fabrizio Albertini ◽

Stefano Marcelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Defense Mechanisms ◽

Online Survey ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Well Being ◽

Personal Accomplishment ◽

Traumatic Experience ◽

Psychological Resources ◽

Defensive Functioning ◽

The Impact

The experience of working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 healthcare crisis has presented a cumulative traumatic experience that affects healthcare professionals’ well-being. Psychological resources such as resilience and adaptive defense mechanisms are essential in protecting individuals from severe stress and burnout. During September 2020, 233 healthcare workers responded to an online survey to test the impact of demographic variables, COVID-19 exposure, and psychological resources in determining stress and burnout during the COVID-19 emergency. Frontline workers reported higher scores for stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization (p < 0.001) as compared to colleagues working in units not directly serving patients with COVID-19. Mature defensive functioning was associated with resilience and personal accomplishment (r = 0.320; p < 0.001), while neurotic and immature defenses were related to perceived stress and burnout. Stress and burnout were predicted by lower age, female gender, greater exposure to COVID-19, lower resilience, and immature defensive functioning among healthcare professionals (R2 = 463; p < 0.001). Working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to provoke greater stress and burnout. On the other hand, resilience and adaptive defense mechanisms predicted better adjustment. Future reaction plans should promote effective programs offering support for healthcare workers who provide direct care to patients with COVID-19.

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Impact of enhanced personal protective equipment on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare workers during COVID-19

Postgraduate Medical Journal ◽

10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139150 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. postgradmedj-2020-139150 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ramanathan Swaminathan ◽

Bimantha Perera Mukundadura ◽

Shashi Prasad

Keyword(s):

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact ◽

Mental Well Being

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare workers in patient-facing roles. We describe the impact on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE consistently.MethodsWe conducted a single-centre, cross-sectional study among healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE. A web-based questionnaire was disseminated to evaluate the effects on individuals’ physical and mental well-being. Physical and mental impact was assessed through a visual analogue scale.ResultsProspective analysis of the views of 72 respondents is reported. 63.9% were women and 36.1% were men. Physical impact included exhaustion, headache, skin changes, breathlessness and a negative impact on vision. Communication difficulties, somnolence, negative impact on overall performance and difficulties in using surgical instrumentation were reported.ConclusionOur study demonstrates the undeniable negative impact on the front-line healthcare workers using enhanced PPE and lays the ground for larger multicentric assessments given for it to potentially be the norm for the foreseeable future.

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Psychological Adjustment of Healthcare Workers in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Differences in Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Burnout, Secondary Trauma, and Compassion Satisfaction between Frontline and Non-Frontline Professionals

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17228358 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (22) ◽

pp. 8358 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Carmen Trumello ◽

Sonia Monique Bramanti ◽

Giulia Ballarotto ◽

Carla Candelori ◽

Luca Cerniglia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Psychological Adjustment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Secondary Trauma ◽

Health Workers ◽

Compassion Satisfaction ◽

Psychological Support ◽

Targeted Prevention ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

The Impact

Emergency situations have been associated with negative psychological adjustment outcomes in healthcare professionals, although studies on the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amongst Italian health workers are limited. The main aim of this study was to investigate the psychological adjustment of healthcare professionals during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating differences according to working or not with patients affected by COVID-19 and in areas with a more severe spread of this pandemic. Healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward psychological support were analyzed. The levels of anxiety, depression, psychological stress, and professional quality of life (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue) and attitudes toward psychological support were measured among 627 Italian healthcare workers (mean age = 40.55 years; SD = 11.49; range: 27–72). Significantly higher levels of stress, burnout, secondary trauma, anxiety, and depression were observed among professionals working with COVID-19 patients. Higher levels of stress and burnout and lower levels of compassion satisfaction were detected in professionals working in areas with higher rates of contagion. No interaction effects were found between working (or not) with patients affected by COVID-19 and working (or not) in areas with a more severe diffusion of this pandemic. Finally, in the group of professionals who worked with COVID-19 patients, the percentage of professionals who thought to ask for psychological support was twice that of the group that did not work with COVID-19 patients. The overall findings indicate that the mental health of frontline healthcare workers requires further consideration and that targeted prevention and intervention programs are necessary.

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Job Demands, Burnout, and Teamwork in Healthcare Professionals Working in a General Hospital that Was Analysed At Two Points in Time

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2018.159 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 723-729 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dragan Mijakoski ◽

Jovanka Karadzinska-Bislimovska ◽

Sasho Stoleski ◽

Jordan Minov ◽

Aneta Atanasovska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

General Hospital ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Safety Culture ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Time Lag ◽

Job Demands ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Patient Safety Culture ◽

Mean Values

AIM: The purpose of the paper was to assess job demands, burnout, and teamwork in healthcare professionals (HPs) working in a general hospital that was analysed at two points in time with a time lag of three years.METHODS: Time 1 respondents (N = 325) were HPs who participated during the first wave of data collection (2011). Time 2 respondents (N = 197) were HPs from the same hospital who responded at Time 2 (2014). Job demands, burnout, and teamwork were measured with Hospital Experience Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture, respectively.RESULTS: Significantly higher scores of emotional exhaustion (21.03 vs. 15.37, t = 5.1, p < 0.001), depersonalization (4.48 vs. 2.75, t = 3.8, p < 0.001), as well as organizational (2.51 vs. 2.34, t = 2.38, p = 0.017), emotional (2.46 vs. 2.25, t = 3.68, p < 0.001), and cognitive (2.82 vs. 2.64, t = 2.68, p = 0.008) job demands were found at Time 2. Teamwork levels were similar at both points in time (Time 1 = 3.84 vs. Time 2 = 3.84, t = 0.043, p = 0.97).CONCLUSION: Actual longitudinal study revealed significantly higher mean values of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization in 2014 that could be explained by significantly increased job demands between analysed points in time.

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Assessment of Healthcare Professionals' Adherence to Hand Hygiene After Alcohol-Based Hand Rub Introduction at an Intensive Care Unit in São Paulo, Brazil

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1086/510791 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 365-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Solange L. Santana ◽

Guilherme H. C. Furtado ◽

Ana Paula Coutinho ◽

Eduardo A. S. Medeiros

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Hand Hygiene ◽

Educational Program ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Night Shift ◽

Nursing Assistants ◽

Invasive Procedures ◽

The Impact

We analyzed the impact of introducing an alcohol-based hand gel and an educational program on hand hygiene adherence among healthcare workers in an intensive care unit. Adherence to hand hygiene was significantly higher after the intervention for the night shift work period (P = .001), among nursing assistants (P = .001), among nurses (P = .007) on weekend days (P = .016), and for invasive procedures (P = .012).

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The Experience of a Single NHS England Trust on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Junior and Middle-Grade Doctors: What Is Next?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph181910413 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (19) ◽

pp. 10413

Author(s):

Antonios Revythis ◽

Sidrah Shah ◽

Synthia Enyioma ◽

Aruni Ghose ◽

Meenash Patel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

District General Hospital ◽

Financial Impact ◽

Low Levels ◽

The Impact ◽

Different Levels ◽

Perfect Storm

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected all national healthcare systems at different levels. In countries heavily hit by the pandemic, it was reported that healthcare workers were asked to work long hours, had increased workload, were faced with difficult decisions, and that the resources were stretched. As such, the COVID-19 pandemic would create the perfect storm for burnout in healthcare workers. Within this context, we conducted a survey in a district general hospital in Southeast England. We focused on doctors in training, in different specialties. This survey included parts of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for healthcare professionals, along with other relevant questions, such as the financial impact and seeking of psychological support. The results showed moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, but high levels of personal satisfaction, a positive impact on doctors finances and very low levels of seeking support.

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Emotional exhaustion in front-line healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China: the effects of time pressure, social sharing and cognitive appraisal

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10891-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Huan Wang ◽

Xinyao Zhou ◽

Xiuli Jia ◽

Caiping Song ◽

Xu Luo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Time Pressure ◽

Process Analysis ◽

Cognitive Reappraisal ◽

Dark Side ◽

Front Line ◽

Social Sharing ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Abstract Background With the increasing spread of COVID-19, healthcare workers, especially front-line medical staff, have become more vulnerable to emotional exhaustion. Objectives This study aimed to determine the influence of time pressure on the emotional exhaustion of front-line healthcare workers, and explore the effects of social sharing and cognitive reappraisal on this. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2020. A total of 232 questionnaires were completed by front-line healthcare workers in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. Hierarchical linear regression and conditional process analysis were performed to explore the relationships among time pressure, social sharing, cognitive reappraisal, and emotional exhaustion. Results Time pressure was positively associated with social sharing and emotional exhaustion. Social sharing presented the dark side, a negative effect that was always kept concealed, in terms of the impact on emotional exhaustion. Cognitive reappraisal negatively moderated the relationship between time pressure and social sharing, and it further indirectly influenced the relationship between time pressure and emotional exhaustion through social sharing. Conclusions Our findings shed light on how time pressure influences the emotional exhaustion of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 period. Although social sharing is commonly regarded as a positive behavior, we identified a dark side in terms of its impact. We also identified that improving cognitive reappraisal may present a positive strategy toward alleviating emotional exhaustion.

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Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Mental Health in Nurses from Huelva: A Cross-Cutting Study during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18157860 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 7860

Author(s):

Francisco-Javier Gago-Valiente ◽

María-Isabel Mendoza-Sierra ◽

Emilia Moreno-Sánchez ◽

Félix Arbinaga ◽

Adrián Segura-Camacho

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

First Line ◽

Professional Category ◽

Dependent Variables ◽

Nursing Professionals ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Currently, healthcare professionals are particularly vulnerable to the impact of the SARS-CoV-2pandemic since they directly deal with patients suffering from this disease and are in the first line of fire, which increases their risk of contagion. This research examines the prevalence of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and possible non-psychotic psychiatric disorders in 48 male and 270 female nursing professionals of Huelva during the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, we analyzed the relationship between these dependent variables and considered various sociodemographic variables. The nursing staff of public hospitals in Huelva who have had contact with cases of SARS-CoV-2 in their work environment showed a poorer state of mental health than that of others of this same professional category who have not had contact with this type of situation.

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The Gender Impact Assessment among Healthcare Workers in the SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination—An Analysis of Serological Response and Side Effects

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9050522 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 522

Author(s):

Chiara Di Di Resta ◽

Davide Ferrari ◽

Marco Viganò ◽

Matteo Moro ◽

Eleonora Sabetta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Impact Assessment ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Serological Response ◽

Sex And Gender ◽

Antibody Titers ◽

And Gender ◽

The Impact

Healthcare professionals are considered to be at high risk of exposure and spread of SARS-CoV-2, and have therefore been considered a priority group in COVID-19 vaccination campaign strategies. However, it must be assumed that the immune response is influenced by numerous factors, including sex and gender. The analysis of these factors is an impact element for stratifying the population and targeting the vaccination strategy. Therefore, a large cohort of healthcare workers participating in the Italian vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 has been studied to establish the impact of sex and gender on vaccination coverage using the Gender Impact Assessment approach. This study shows a significant difference in the antibody titers among different age and sex groups, with a clear decreasing trend in antibody titers in the older age groups. Overall, the serological values were significantly higher in females; the reported side effects are more frequent in females than in males. Therefore, disaggregated data point out how the evaluation of gender factors could be essential in COVID-19 vaccination strategies. On this biomedical and social basis, suggestions are provided to improve the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign in healthcare professionals. Still, they could be adapted to other categories and contexts.

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