The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 251 - 257, 13.05.2023

Elif İnönü Selvi Ceran Pelin Aydın Mediha Nur Nişancı Yılmaz Yasemin Hosgören Alıcı Çaşıt Olgun Çelik

https://doi.org/10.54617/adoklinikbilimler.1208200

Abstract

Aim: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been potentially affecting the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) especially frontline workers due to isolation and loss of social support, risk of transmission to friends and relatives. We aimed to evaluate the mental health status of healthcare workers during the pandemic with the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28).
Materials and Method: This was a single-center, cross-sectional study with a population of 250 health workers at Baskent University. The GHQ-28 scale was used to detect mental disorders in study participants. The online questionnaire was transferred via official email to the participants. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann-Whitney U tests, and multiple logistic regression analysis. A p-value of <0.05 was set as statistically significant with a confidence interval of 95% level.
Results: Of the respondents (n=250), 66% (n=165) were women and 61% were between 20-45 years, and 63.2% were married. Compared with second line health workers (n=196), frontline workers (n=54) had a higher prevalence of somatic symptoms (p<0.01), anxiety/insomnia and depression (p<0.01). Multiple regression analyses showed that younger age (≤55 years), female gender and being frontline workers were more likely to have mental problems (p<0.01).
Conclusion: Evaluating the mental status of HCWs and providing psychological support are essential to increase healthcare professionals’ ability to manage the pandemic process.

Keywords

COVID-19, Healthcare workers, Mental health

Supporting Institution

Başkent Üniversitesi

Project Number

D-KA 20/13

Thanks

None

COVID-19 Pandemisinin Sağlık Çalışanlarının Mental Sağlığına Etkisi

Abstract

Amaç: Coronavirüs Hastalığı-2019 (COVID-19) pandemisi, izolasyon ve sosyalleşme kısıtlaması, arkadaş ve akrabalara bulaştırma riski vb. nedenlerle sağlık çalışanlarının özellikle
birinci basamak sağlık çalışanlarının mental sağlığını etkileme potansiyeline sahiptir. Bu nedenle, bu çalışmanın amacı sağlık çalışanlarının pandemi sürecinde mental sağlık durumlarını Genel Sağlık Anketi-28 (GHQ-28) ile değerlendirmektir.
Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu araştırma, tek merkezli, kesitsel bir çalışmadır. Araştırmanın örneklemini Başkent Üniversitesi’nde görev yapan 250 sağlık çalışanı oluşturmuştur. Mental rahatsızlıkların saptanmasında tarama aracı olarak 28 maddelik GHQ-28 kullanılmıştır. Çevrimiçi anket, katılımcılara resmi e-posta yoluyla iletilmiştir. Veriler tanımlayıcı istatistikler, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U testleri ve çoklu lojistik regresyon analizi ile analiz edilmiştir. Anlamlılık, p<0.05 olarak belirlenmiş ve güven aralığı %95 düzeyinde belirlenmiştir.
Bulgular: Ankete katılanların büyük çoğunluğu (n=250) kadın (%66), 20-45 (%61) yaş arasında ve evlidir (%63.2). İkinci basamak sağlık çalışanları (n=196) ile karşılaştırıldığında birinci basamak çalışanları (n=54) istatistiksel olarak daha yüksek somatik semptom (p<0.01), anksiyete/uykusuzluk ve depresyon (p<0.01) prevalansına sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çoklu regresyon analizlerine göre, genç yaş (≤55 yaş), kadın cinsiyet ve birinci basamak çalışan olmak mental problemlere sahip olma riskini arttırmaktadır (p <0.01).
Sonuç: Sağlık çalışanlarının mental durumlarının değerlendirilmesi ve psikolojik destek sağlanması, sağlık çalışanlarının pandemi sürecini yönetme becerisini artırmak için önemlidir.

Keywords

COVID-19, Sağlık çalışanları, Mental sağlık, Genel Sağlık Anketi-28, Healthcare workers, Mental health, General Health Questionnaire-28

Project Number

D-KA 20/13

References

• World Health Organization. Laboratory testing of human suspected cases of novel coronavirus (‎‎‎‎‎‎‎nCoV)‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ infection: interim guidance, 10 January 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/laboratory/2020.1). World Health Organization.
• Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Biomed 2020;91:157-60.
• World Health Organization. Clinical management of severe acute respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (‎‎‎ nCoV)‎‎‎ infection is suspected: interim guidance, 25 January 2020 (No. WHO/nCoV/Clinical/2020.2). World Health Organization, 2020.
• Guan WJ, Ni ZY, Hu Y, Liang WH, Ou CQ, He JX, et al. China medical treatment expert group for Covid-19. Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019;1708-1720.
• Liu K, Fang YY, Deng Y, Liu W, Wang M. F, Ma JP, et al. Clinical characteristics of novel coronavirus cases in tertiary hospitals in Hubei Province. Chin Med J 2020;133:1025-31.
• Bai Y, Lin CC, Lin CY, Chen JY, Chue CM, Chou P. Survey of stress reactions among health care workers involved with the SARS outbreak. Psychiatr Serv 2004;55:1055-7.
• Lee AM, Wong JG, McAlonan GM, Cheung V, Cheung C, Sham PC, et al. Stress and psychological distress among SARS survivors 1 year after the outbreak. Can J Psychiatry 2007;52:233-40.
• Chua SE, Cheung V, Cheung C, McAlonan GM, Wong JW, Cheung EP, et al. Psychological effects of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong on high-risk health care workers. Can J Psychiatry 2004;49:391-3.
• Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open 2020;3:e203976-e203976.
• Stankovska G, Memedi I, Dimitrovski D. Coronavirus COVID-19 disease, mental health and psychosocial support. Society Register 2020;4:33-48.
• Cai H, Tu B, Ma J, Chen L, Fu L, Jiang Y, Zhuang Q. Psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan between January and March 2020 during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei, China. Med Sci Monit 2020;26: e924171.
• Zhu Z, Xu S, Wang H, Liu Z, Wu J, Li G, et al. COVID-19 in Wuhan: immediate psychological impact on 5062 health workers. MedRxiv 2020.
• Goldberg DP, Gater R, Sartorius N, Ustun TB, Piccinelli M, Gureje O, et al. The validity of two versions of the GHQ in the WHO study of mental illness in general health care. Psychol Med 1997;27:191-7.
• Kiliç C. Genel saglik anketi: Geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalismasi. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry 1996;7:3-9.
• Sterling M. General health questionnaire–28 (GHQ-28). J Physiotherapy 2011;57:259.
• Goldberg DP, Oldehinkel T, Ormel J. Why GHQ threshold varies from one place to another. Psychol Med 1998;28:915-21.
• Uysal N, Yenal K. Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin genel sağlık durumlarının incelenmesi. SDÜ Saglik Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi 2014;5:15-20.
• Holmes EA, O'Connor RC, Perry VH, Tracey I, Wessely S, Arseneault L, et al. Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. Lancet Psychiatry 2020;7:547-60.
• da Silva FCT, Neto MLR. Psychiatric symptomatology associated with depression, anxiety, distress, and insomnia in health professionals working in patients affected by COVID-19: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021;104:110057.
• Hou T, Zhang T, Cai W, Song X, Chen A, Deng G, Ni C. Social support and mental health among health care workers during Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak: A moderated mediation model. Plos one, 2020;15:e0233831.
• Heath C, Sommerfield A, Von Ungern‐Sternberg BS. Resilience strategies to manage psychological distress among healthcare workers during the COVID‐19 pandemic: a narrative review. Anaesthesia 2020;75:1364-71.
• Rossi R, Socci V, Pacitti F, Di Lorenzo G, Di Marco A, Siracusano A, et al. Mental health outcomes among frontline and second-line health care workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Italy. JAMA Netw Open 2020;3:e2010185.
• Que J, Le Shi JD, Liu J, Zhang L, Wu S, Gong Y, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study in China. Gen Psychiatr 2020;33:e100259.
• Cai Q, Feng H, Huang J, Wang, M, Wang Q, Lu X, et al. The mental health of frontline and non-frontline medical workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: A case-control study. J Affect Disord 2020;275:210-5.
• Spoorthy MS, Pratapa SK, Mahant S. Mental health problems faced by healthcare workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic–A review. Asian J Psychiatr 2020;51:102119.
• Ornell F, Halpern SC, Kessler FHP, Narvaez JCDM. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals. Cad Saude Publica 2020;36:e00063520.
• Vindegaard N, Benros ME. COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic review of the current evidence. Brain Behav Immun 2020;89:531-42.
• Zhang WR, Wang K, Yin L, Zhao WF, Xue Q, Peng M, et al. Mental health and psychosocial problems of medical health workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Psychother Psychosom 2020;89:242-50.
• Liang Y, Chen M, Zheng X, Liu J. Screening for Chinese medical staff mental health by SDS and SAS during the outbreak of COVID-19. J Psychosom Res 2020;133:110102.
• Huang Y, Zhao N. Generalized anxiety disorder, depressive symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-19 outbreak in China: a web-based cross-sectional survey. Psychiatry Res 2020;288:112954.