scholarly journals Psychological distress found among exposed health care workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (17) ◽  
pp. 3-4
Author(s):  
Valerie A. Canady
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals Psychological distress and resilience in first responders and health care workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Pink ◽  
Nicola S. Gray ◽  
Chris O’Connor ◽  
James R. Knowles ◽  
Nicola J. Simkiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals Psychological Distress, Early Behavioral Response, and Perception Toward the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Care Workers in North Shoa Zone, Oromiya Region

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal Jemal ◽  
Berhanu Senbeta Deriba ◽  
Tinsae Abeya Geleta
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Medical Laboratory ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Medical Laboratory Professionals

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on health care workers (HCWs). Therefore, this study inspects the mental health status, behavioral response, and perception among HCWs (nurses, physicians, and medical laboratory workers) during the COVID-19 pandemic in public health care facilities.Methods: A facilities-based cross-sectional study was conducted in July 2020. A simple random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected by self-report administered questionnaires using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depression, General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) for anxiety, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) for insomnia, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) for psychological distress, Perceived Threat Scale for perception, and Behavioral Response Inquiry for the behavioral response. Moreover, bivariable and multivariable logistic regressions analysis was used to identify the association between dependent and independent variables at p-value <0.05.Results: A total of 417 (98.6%) HCWs responded to a self-administered questionnaire. The proportion of HCWs who had moderate to severe symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic were 58, 16.3, 30.7, and 15.9%, respectively. Three-fifth of the nurses, medical laboratory professionals (62.2%), and physicians (59.2%) had reported good behavioral responses toward the COVID-19 pandemic. More than three-fifths of the nurses had reported poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversely, 61.2% of physicians and three-fourths (75.5%) of medical laboratory professionals had reported good perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Female and married participants, those working in the emergency unit, those with poor behavioral responses, and those with poor perception toward the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly associated with symptoms of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.Conclusions: Psychological impacts among physicians, nurses, and medical laboratory professionals are high during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health should aim to protect all HCWs' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic with appropriate interventions and accurate information response.

Health-care workers’ knowledge and management skills of psychosocial and mental health needs and priorities of individuals with COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Ayman Hamdan Mansour ◽  
Ahmad N. Al Shibi ◽  
Anas H. Khalifeh ◽  
Laith A. Hamdan Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Manage Care ◽  
Care Workers

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge and management skills of health-care workers regarding psychosocial and mental health priorities and needs of individuals with COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data collected conveniently from 101 health-care workers in Jordan directly managing care of individuals with COVID-19. Findings Health-care workers have moderate-to-high level of knowledge and management skills of psychological distress related to COVID-19; means ranged from 50%–70% agreement and confidence. In general, health-care workers were able to identify mental and psychosocial health needs and priorities at a moderate level. Health-care workers knowledge had a positive and significant correlation with age (r = 0.24, p = 0.012) and years of experience (r = 0.28, p = 0.004), and a significant difference was found in their management between those who are trained on psychological first aids and those who are not (t = −3.11, p = 0.003). Practical implications There is a need to train health-care workers to integrate psychosocial and mental health care to manage care psychological distress related to COVID-19. Originality/value This study is emphasizing the need for mental health psychosocial support training and in integration. Health-care workers providing care to individuals with COVID-19 are not aware of mental health priorities and needs of their patients. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge adding more understanding about competencies of health-care workers providing care and their preparedness to manage care individuals with COVID-19.

scholarly journals Belief in a COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory as a Predictor of Mental Health and Well-Being of Health Care Workers in Ecuador: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Stephen X Zhang ◽  
Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi ◽  
Aldo Alvarez-Risco ◽  
Huiyang Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social media platforms have become active sites for the dissemination of conspiracy theories that provide alternative explanations of the cause of the pandemic, such as secret plots by powerful and malicious groups. However, the association of individuals’ beliefs in conspiracy theories about COVID-19 with mental health and well-being issues has not been investigated. This association creates an assessable channel to identify and provide assistance to people with mental health and well-being issues during the pandemic. OBJECTIVE Our aim was to provide the first evidence that belief in conspiracy theories regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is a predictor of the mental health and well-being of health care workers. METHODS We conducted a survey of 252 health care workers in Ecuador from April 10 to May 2, 2020. We analyzed the data regarding distress and anxiety caseness with logistic regression and the data regarding life and job satisfaction with linear regression. RESULTS Among the 252 sampled health care workers in Ecuador, 61 (24.2%) believed that the virus was developed intentionally in a lab; 82 (32.5%) experienced psychological distress, and 71 (28.2%) had anxiety disorder. Compared to health care workers who were not sure where the virus originated, those who believed the virus was developed intentionally in a lab were more likely to report psychological distress and anxiety disorder and to have lower levels of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS This paper identifies belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories as an important predictor of distress, anxiety, and job and life satisfaction among health care workers. This finding will enable mental health services to better target and provide help to mentally vulnerable health care workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals AB0910-HPR LEVELS OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: AT WHAT DEGREE ARE HEALTH CARE WORKERS AFFECTED IN TUNISIA?

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1477.2-1477
Author(s):  
K. Ben Abdelghani ◽  
O. Hamdi ◽  
S. Miladi ◽  
M. Sellami ◽  
K. Ouenniche ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Psychological Support ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
The Mean

Background:Since December 2019, a novel pneumonia caused by coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) has been spreading internationally. Facing this critical pandemic, health care workers who are involved in treating these patients are at risk of developing psychological distress.Objectives:To evaluate mental health outcomes among health care workers treating patients exposed to COVID-19.Methods:This cross-sectional study collected demographic data and mental health measurements from health workers in different hospitals using an online questionnaire. Participants were divided in two groups: G1 included participants working in a COVID-19 unit and G2 included those who worked in a normal ward. Participants were asked to complete the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). The total scores of these measurement tools were interpreted as follows: PHQ-9 normal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14) and severe (15-21) depression; GAD-7 normal (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10-14) and severe (15-21) anxiety. We compared the two groups in terms of psychological distress using a Chi-square test.Results:A total of 155 individuals with a mean age of 31.3 ± 25 years [26-45] and a sex-ratio of 0.3 completed the online questionnaire. Seventy-two participants (46%) worked in a COVID-unit. The mean number of nightshifts per month in the COVID-unit was 9.5 in G1 and 1.3 in G2 respectively. The mean number of work hours per day in the COVID unit was 5 hours in G1, and 0 in G2. G2 participants worked in COVID-units during nightshifts only. An increase in workload compared to the pre-epidemic was noted only in G1. Depression and anxiety scores were higher among participants of G1 compared to G2 (Table 1).Table 1.Comparison of the participants according to the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores:ScoreG1G2pMild depression33%12%0.001Moderate depression14%9%0.000Severe depression7%0.9%0.002Mild anxiety29%17%0.005Moderate anxiety18%7.3%0.002Severe anxiety8.4%2.1%0.001G: GroupThe need for psychological support was more frequent in G1 compared to G2 (38% vs 9%; p=0.005). Participants of G1 were diagnosed with depression (9 cases), anxiety (9 cases) and burn-out (3 cases). In G2, 4 participants were diagnosed with anxiety. The prescribed treatments were: antidepressants (5 cases), anxiolytic (10 cases), and psychotherapy (12 cases).Conclusion:Individuals experience varying levels of distress during pandemics. In our study, health care workers in the frontline of COVID-units experienced high levels of anxiety and depression. Thus, necessary measures should be attached to psychological support strategies for health care workers.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

scholarly journals Psychological Distress Among Health Care Workers in Health Facilities of Mettu Town During COVID-19 Outbreak, South West Ethiopia, 2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammedamin Hajure ◽  
Bekem Dibaba ◽  
Shuayib Shemsu ◽  
Defaru Desalegn ◽  
Mohammed Reshad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Event Scale ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Background: During any of the infectious disease outbreak, health care workers were at increased risk of being infected, and psychological distress was a common phenomenon. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the psychological distress related to COVID-19 among healthcare workers in Mettu town.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from May 1–15, 2020 using convenient sampling techniques among 127 health care providers during COVID-19 pandemic in the Mettu town. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information. Depression and anxiety were evaluated as subscales from the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Psychological distress related to COVID-19 was measured using the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R). Data analysis were done using SPSS version 24. Chi-square test was used to find the association between the outcome and demographic variables. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the significance of the association at P-value < 0.05.Result: Using IES-R scale, 40.2% of the participants reported to have the symptoms of psychological distress. The majority of the participants reported mild psychological distress (37%) followed by moderate psychological distress (29%). The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of psychological distress were found to be higher among health care providers who reported to have depressive symptoms, and those who used alcohol, khat and tobacco in the past 3 months shows a significant association with psychological distress.Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had exerted major psychological distress on health care providers. So the findings, seek attention for early psychological intervention needed to manage psychological distress in health care providers regarding identified factors.

scholarly journals Assessment of Psychological Distress in Health-care Workers during and after the First Wave of COVID-19: A Canadian Longitudinal Study: Évaluation de la Détresse Psychologique Chez Les Travailleurs de la Santé Durant et Après la Première Vague de la COVID-19: une étude longitudinale canadienne

2021 ◽  
pp. 070674372110252
Author(s):  
Marie-Michèle Dufour ◽  
Nicolas Bergeron ◽  
Axelle Rabasa ◽  
Stéphane Guay ◽  
Steve Geoffrion
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Post Traumatic

Objectives: Health-care workers (HCW) exposed to COVID-19 are at risk of experiencing psychological distress. Although several cross-sectional studies have been carried out, a longitudinal perspective is needed to better understand the evolution of psychological distress indicators within this population. The objectives of this study were to assess the evolution of psychological distress and to identify psychological distress trajectories of Canadian HCW during and after the first wave of COVID-19. Method: This prospective cohort study was conducted from May 8 to September 4, 2020, and includes a volunteer sample of 373 HCW. Symptoms of post-traumatic disorder, anxiety, and depression were assessed using the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (PCL-5), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Descriptive statistics were used to illustrate the evolution of psychological distress indicators, whereas latent class analysis was carried out to identify trajectories. Results: During and after the first wave of COVID-19, the rates of clinical mental health symptoms among our sample varied between 6.2% and 22.2% for post-traumatic stress, 10.1% and 29.9% for depression, and 7.3% and 26.9% for anxiety. Finally, 4 trajectories were identified: recovered (18.77%), resilient (65.95%), subchronic (7.24%), and delayed (8.04%). Conclusion: The longitudinal nature of our study and the scarcity of our data are unique among existing studies on psychological distress of HCW in COVID-19 context and allow us to contextualize prior transversal data on the topic. Although our data illustrated an optimistic picture in showing that the majority of HCW follow a resilience trajectory, it is still important to focus our attention on those who present psychological distress. Implementing preventive mental health interventions in our health-care institutions that may prevent chronic distress is imperative. Further studies need to be done to identify predictors that may help to characterize these trajectories.

scholarly journals Belief in a COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory as a Predictor of Mental Health and Well-Being of Health Care Workers in Ecuador: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

10.2196/20737 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e20737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Stephen X Zhang ◽  
Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi ◽  
Aldo Alvarez-Risco ◽  
Huiyang Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Health And Well Being

Background During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, social media platforms have become active sites for the dissemination of conspiracy theories that provide alternative explanations of the cause of the pandemic, such as secret plots by powerful and malicious groups. However, the association of individuals’ beliefs in conspiracy theories about COVID-19 with mental health and well-being issues has not been investigated. This association creates an assessable channel to identify and provide assistance to people with mental health and well-being issues during the pandemic. Objective Our aim was to provide the first evidence that belief in conspiracy theories regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is a predictor of the mental health and well-being of health care workers. Methods We conducted a survey of 252 health care workers in Ecuador from April 10 to May 2, 2020. We analyzed the data regarding distress and anxiety caseness with logistic regression and the data regarding life and job satisfaction with linear regression. Results Among the 252 sampled health care workers in Ecuador, 61 (24.2%) believed that the virus was developed intentionally in a lab; 82 (32.5%) experienced psychological distress, and 71 (28.2%) had anxiety disorder. Compared to health care workers who were not sure where the virus originated, those who believed the virus was developed intentionally in a lab were more likely to report psychological distress and anxiety disorder and to have lower levels of job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Conclusions This paper identifies belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories as an important predictor of distress, anxiety, and job and life satisfaction among health care workers. This finding will enable mental health services to better target and provide help to mentally vulnerable health care workers during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals RECHARGE – A Brief Psychological Intervention to Build Resilience in Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser Morina ◽  
Sonja Weilenmann ◽  
Katie S Dawson ◽  
Jutta Ernst ◽  
Zelim Zanitti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background: Health care workers (HCWs) typically face high work demands, which can be exacerbated during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These demands may result in high psychological distress and reduced work performance. Although there are psychological interventions to reduce stress in HCWs under normal working circumstances, no intervention have been specifically developed to addresses stress in the context of public health crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of RECHARGE, a psychological intervention specifically developed for HCWs to reduce distress in HCWs. It is based on a brief crisis intervention of the World Health Organization that teaches basic stress management skills from cognitive behavioural therapy. Methods: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be carried out among 160 physicians, nurses, and other HCWs working in hospitals in Switzerland during COVID-19, who are at least moderately distressed. HCWs will be randomised to RECHARGE (n=80) or active treatment as usual (ATAU) (n=80). Pre-intervention (week 1, T1), post-intervention (week 4, T2) and 2-month follow-up (week 12, T3) assessments include psychological distress as primary outcome, and indicators of mental ill-being (worries, anxiety, depression, burnout, traumatic stress, distress due to perceived ethical dilemma) and work performance as secondary outcomes. These outcomes will be compared between HCWs in the RECHARGE and ATAU groups. Discussion: RECHARGE is an evidence-informed brief, flexible, easily scalable, fully online psychological program that allows delivery in pandemic conditions, including social isolation. Therefore, this program can serve as a much-needed template for an intervention to reduce stress and enhance work performance in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. If proven effective, RECHARGE may not only be used to reduce elevated stress in HCWs in Switzerland, but also globally. Key words: COVID-19, randomised controlled trial, protocol, health care workers; psychological treatment; distress, crisis intervention; pandemic; resilience;

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