Main Article Content
Abstract
BACKGROUND
COVID 19 pandemic posed a varied group of challenges to health care workers (HCWs) like new disease with no treatment, less treatment options available, worry for infection to family members, shortage of personal protective equipment (PPEs), uncertainty, and stress associated with lockdowns. HCWs are highly vulnerable to negative mental distress; this psychological distress varies in different group of HCWs and also on different psychological domains. In this study, we wanted to assess the impact of COVID 19 on the psychological well-being of health care professionals when providing care to COVID-19 patients.
METHODS
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on doctors providing care to COVID -19 patients at King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, during the second wave of COVID from March 2021 to December 2021. The questionnaire included three domains – Personal questions, work related questions, and pandemic related questions. The response to the questions was recorded in Likert’s scale.
RESULTS
50 (50.00 %) were sometimes physically exhausted, 49 (49.00 %) participants were sometimes emotionally exhausted, and 46 (46.00 %) participants reported that sometimes they felt worn out (extremely tired). 54 (54.00 %) participants reported that sometimes they were frustrated with their work, and 46 (46.00 %) participants reported sometimes feeling burnt out because of the work. 48 (48.00 %) participants reported sometimes feeling depressed, 38 (38.00 %) participants stated sometime having a fear of catching COVID-19 infection, and 44 (44.00 %) participants reported consistently having to fear of family members getting infected due to the exposure in work environment.
CONCLUSIONS
In total, COVID-19 had a negative effect on psychological well-being of the HCWs, but that was not severe to cause any specific psychological disorders. There was no significant difference in mental health impact between the genders and age groups of the participants.
Keywords
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
- Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, et al. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med 2020;382(13):1199-207.
- WHO. Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) [Internet]. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
- mygov.in. COVID-19 in India, Vaccination, Dashboard, Corona Virus Tracker [Internet]. 2022. [Cited 2022 Aug 20]. Available from: https://www.mygov.in/covid-19
- Maunder RG, Lancee WJ, Balderson KE, et al. Long-term psychological and occupational effects of providing hospital healthcare during SARS outbreak. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12(12):1924-32.
- Brooks SK, Dunn R, Amlôt R, et al. A systematic, thematic review of social and occupational factors associated with psychological outcomes in healthcare employees during an infectious disease outbreak. J Occup Environ Med 2018;60(3):248-57.
- Raj R, Koyalada S, Kumar A, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in India: an observational study. J Family Med Prim Care 2020;9(12):5921.
- Horwitz AV. Distinguishing distress from disorder as psychological outcomes of stressful social arrangements. Health (London) 2007;11(3):273-89.
- Ching SM, Ng KY, Lee KW, et al. Psychological distress among healthcare providers during COVID-19 in Asia: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2021;16(10):e0257983.
- de Kock JH, Latham HA, Leslie SJ, et al. A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health 2021;21(1):1-18.
- Tan BYQ, Chew NWS, Lee GKH, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in Singapore. Ann Intern Med 2020;173(4):317-20.
- BDSS Corp. Released 2020. coGuide Statistics software, Version 1.0, Bangalore, India: BDSS corp. Available from: https://www.coguide.in.
- de Cordova PB, Johansen ML, Grafova IB, et al. Burnout and intent to leave during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of New Jersey hospital nurses. J Nurs Manag 2022;30(6):1913-21.
- Joshi VR, Younger JM, Das S, et al. Factors influencing burnout in millennial medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic! Ir J Med Sci 2022:1-7.
- Ju TR, Mikrut EE, Spinelli A, et al. Factors associated with burnout among resident physicians responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2-month longitudinal observation study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19(15):9714.
- Kunno J, Supawattanabodee B, Sumanasrethakul C, et al. Burnout prevalence and contributing factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey study in an urban community in Thailand. PLoS One 2022;17(8):e0269421.
- Dezso F, Birkás B, Vizin G, et al. Examining the mental health adversity among healthcare providers during the two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a cross-sectional, survey-based study. BMJ Open 2022;12(8):e059493.
- Berkhout SG, Billings J, Abou Seif N, et al. Shared sources and mechanisms of healthcare worker distress in COVID-19: a comparative qualitative study in Canada and the UK. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022;13(2):2107810.
- Fond G, Fernandes S, Lucas G, et al. Depression in healthcare workers: Results from the nationwide AMADEUS survey. Int J Nurs Stud 2022;135:104328.
- Kuhlmann E, Behrens GMN, Cossmann A, et al. Healthcare workers’ perceptions and medically approved COVID-19 infection risk: understanding the mental health dimension of the pandemic. A German hospital case study. Front Public Health 2022;10:898840.
References
Li Q, Guan X, Wu P, et al. Early transmission dynamics in Wuhan, China, of novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia. N Engl J Med 2020;382(13):1199-207.
WHO. Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) [Internet]. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news/item/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)
mygov.in. COVID-19 in India, Vaccination, Dashboard, Corona Virus Tracker [Internet]. 2022. [Cited 2022 Aug 20]. Available from: https://www.mygov.in/covid-19
Maunder RG, Lancee WJ, Balderson KE, et al. Long-term psychological and occupational effects of providing hospital healthcare during SARS outbreak. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12(12):1924-32.
Brooks SK, Dunn R, Amlôt R, et al. A systematic, thematic review of social and occupational factors associated with psychological outcomes in healthcare employees during an infectious disease outbreak. J Occup Environ Med 2018;60(3):248-57.
Raj R, Koyalada S, Kumar A, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in India: an observational study. J Family Med Prim Care 2020;9(12):5921.
Horwitz AV. Distinguishing distress from disorder as psychological outcomes of stressful social arrangements. Health (London) 2007;11(3):273-89.
Ching SM, Ng KY, Lee KW, et al. Psychological distress among healthcare providers during COVID-19 in Asia: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2021;16(10):e0257983.
de Kock JH, Latham HA, Leslie SJ, et al. A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health 2021;21(1):1-18.
Tan BYQ, Chew NWS, Lee GKH, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in Singapore. Ann Intern Med 2020;173(4):317-20.
BDSS Corp. Released 2020. coGuide Statistics software, Version 1.0, Bangalore, India: BDSS corp. Available from: https://www.coguide.in.
de Cordova PB, Johansen ML, Grafova IB, et al. Burnout and intent to leave during COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of New Jersey hospital nurses. J Nurs Manag 2022;30(6):1913-21.
Joshi VR, Younger JM, Das S, et al. Factors influencing burnout in millennial medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic! Ir J Med Sci 2022:1-7.
Ju TR, Mikrut EE, Spinelli A, et al. Factors associated with burnout among resident physicians responding to the COVID-19 pandemic: a 2-month longitudinal observation study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19(15):9714.
Kunno J, Supawattanabodee B, Sumanasrethakul C, et al. Burnout prevalence and contributing factors among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey study in an urban community in Thailand. PLoS One 2022;17(8):e0269421.
Dezso F, Birkás B, Vizin G, et al. Examining the mental health adversity among healthcare providers during the two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a cross-sectional, survey-based study. BMJ Open 2022;12(8):e059493.
Berkhout SG, Billings J, Abou Seif N, et al. Shared sources and mechanisms of healthcare worker distress in COVID-19: a comparative qualitative study in Canada and the UK. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2022;13(2):2107810.
Fond G, Fernandes S, Lucas G, et al. Depression in healthcare workers: Results from the nationwide AMADEUS survey. Int J Nurs Stud 2022;135:104328.
Kuhlmann E, Behrens GMN, Cossmann A, et al. Healthcare workers’ perceptions and medically approved COVID-19 infection risk: understanding the mental health dimension of the pandemic. A German hospital case study. Front Public Health 2022;10:898840.