Psychological impact on care professionals due to the SARS-Cov-2 virus in Spain

Depression and anxiety as predictors of performance status and life satisfaction in older adult neurological patients: a cross-sectional cohort study

Neurological disorders are one of the leading causes of disability globally. Studies emphasise that the course and effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions may be influenced by emotional factors. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in patients with neurological disorders and examine whether depression and tendency to respond with anxiety are predictors of disability in these patients. The study included 229 individuals with neurological disorders aged over 55. Our findings show that stroke patients are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and are more likely to display trait anxiety as compared with patients with other neurological disorders. Advanced age, female sex, low level of education and the presence of trait anxiety are associated with a higher severity of depressive symptoms. Stroke survivors have significantly poorer ECOG performance scores and are more likely to be incapable for work. Both depression and trait anxiety are significant predictors of neurological patients' performance status, and the presence of depressive symptoms is a determinant of these patients' level of satisfaction with life. An understanding of psychological risk factors for poorer performance status in individuals with neurological disorders will make it possible to plan prophylactic interventions in order to minimise negative health impacts and facilitate access to mental health facilities.

Mental health status and related factors influencing healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The mental health of healthcare workers during the coronavirus-2019 pandemic was seriously affected, and the risk of mental health problems was high. The present study sought to systematically evaluate the mental health problems of healthcare workers worldwide during the pandemic and to determine the latest global frequency of COVID-19 associated mental health problems.

METHODS

Data in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), EMBASE, Elsevier, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO and the Web of Science before November 11, 2022, were systematically searched. Cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies were included. The meta-analysis used a random effects model to synthesize the comprehensive prevalence rate of mental health problems. Subgroup analyses were performed based on time of data collection; whether the country was or was not developed; continent; doctors and nurses; doctors/nurses vs. other healthcare workers; and psychological evaluation scale.

RESULTS

A total of 161 studies were included, including 341,014 healthcare workers worldwide, with women accounting for 82.8%. Occupationally, 16.2% of the healthcare workers were doctors, 63.6% were nurses and 13.3% were other medical staff. During the pandemic, 47% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35-60%) of healthcare workers reported job burnout, 38% (95% CI, 35-41%) experienced anxiety, 34% (95% CI 30-38%) reported depression, 30% (95% CI, 29-31%) had acute stress disorder, and 26% (95% CI, 21-31%) had post-traumatic stress disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

The study found that there were common mental health problems among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common was job burnout, followed by anxiety, depression, acute stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Although the global pandemic has been brought under control, its long-term impact on the mental health of healthcare workers cannot be ignored. Additional research is required to develop measures to prevent, monitor and treat psychological disorders among healthcare workers.

Resilience of hospital staff facing COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons from Israel

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional burden on already strained healthcare systems worldwide, intensifying the responsibility and burden of healthcare workers. Although most hospital staff continued working during this stressful and challenging unprecedented pandemic, differences in the characteristics and attributes were noted between sectors and hospital departments. Israeli healthcare workers are trained and experienced in coping with national emergencies, but the pandemic has exposed variations in staff reactions. Understanding the intrinsic differences between sectors and departments is a key factor in staff and hospital preparedness for unexpected events, better resource utilization for timely interventions to mitigate risk and improve staff wellbeing.

Objective

To identify and compare the level of resilience, secondary traumatization and burnout among hospital workers, between different sectors and hospital departments, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Cross-sectional research to assess the resiliency, secondary traumatization and burnout of healthcare workers at a large general public hospital in central Israel. The sample consisted of 655 participants across various hospital units exposed to COVID-19 patients.

Results

Emergency department physicians had higher rates of resilience and lower rates of burnout and secondary traumatization than staff in other hospital departments. In contrast, staff from internal medicine departments demonstrated the highest levels of burnout (4.29). Overall, physicians demonstrated higher levels of resilience (7.26) and lower levels of burnout compared to other workers.

Conclusion

Identifying resilience characteristics across hospital staff, sectors and departments can guide hospital management in education, preparation and training of healthcare workers for future large-scale health emergencies such as pandemics, natural disasters, and war.

Nurses' Perceptions of Ethical Conflicts When Caring for Patients with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused ethical challenges and dilemmas in care decisions colliding with nurses' ethical values. This study sought to understand the perceptions and ethical conflicts faced by nurses working on the frontline during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the main coping strategies. A qualitative phenomenological study was carried out following Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews until data saturation. The theoretical sample included 14 nurses from inpatient and intensive care units during the first and second waves of the pandemic. An interview script was used to guide the interviews. Data were analyzed following Giorgi's phenomenological method using Atlas-Ti software. Two themes were identified: (1) ethical conflicts on a personal and professional level; and (2) coping strategies (active and autonomous learning, peer support and teamwork, catharsis, focusing on care, accepting the pandemic as just another work situation, forgetting the bad situations, valuing the positive reinforcement, and humanizing the situation). The strong professional commitment, teamwork, humanization of care, and continuous education have helped nurses to deal with ethical conflicts. It is necessary to address ethical conflicts and provide psychological and emotional support for nurses who have experienced personal and professional ethical conflicts during COVID-19.

A study on differences about the influencing factors of depressive symptoms between medical staff and residents during 2022 city-wide temporary static management period to fighting against COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai

Objectives

Our study aimed to identify the latent class of depressive symptoms in the Shanghai population during the city-wide temporary static management period and compare differences in the factors influencing depressive symptoms between medical staff and residents.

Methods

An online cross-sectional survey was conducted with 840 participants using questionnaires, including Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and self-compiled questionnaire (demographic characteristics and internet usage time). Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed based on participants' depressive symptoms. The latent class subgroups were compared using the chi-square test and t-test. Logistic regression was used in our study to analyze the factors influencing depressive symptoms within the medical staff group and residents group and then compare their differences.

Results

Two distinct subgroups were identified based on the LCA: the group with low-depressive symptoms and the group with high-depressive symptoms. There were significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05) on age, education level, marital status, internet usage time, identity characteristics (medical staff or residents), family income level, living style, overall quality of sleep, and anxiety levels. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis results showed that compared with the residents group, the participants in the group of medical staff with "increasing internet usage time" and the "daytime dysfunction" would have nearly two times the possibility of getting serious depressive symptoms.

Conclusions

There are differences in the factors influencing depression symptoms between medical staff and residents during the 2022 city-wide temporary static management period to fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai. We should pay special attention to those with increasing internet usage time and daytime dysfunction in medical staff working in a special environment such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Health-Care Workers: A Comparison between Groups Involved and Not Involved in COVID-19 Care

Health consequences have been reported among health-care workers (HCWs) exposed to COVID-19. Sweden chose to manage the pandemic with a lower and more equal long-lasting work strain and shorter periods of recovery than in other countries. Few studies have examined the health consequences among HCWs working in such conditions. This study compared the health consequences after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic between HCWs involved in the care of COVID-19 patients and other HCWs and between occupational groups working in COVID-19 care. Multinomial logistic regression and univariate general linear models were used to identify differences. The levels of depression, emotional and physical fatigue, sleep quality, and general health were measured 6 months after the onset of the pandemic in 3495 HCW employed in Sweden. HCWs directly involved in COVID-19 care reported significantly poorer sleep quality and higher scores on emotional and physical exhaustion than those not involved in such care. Health consequences did not differ significantly between different occupational groups involved in COVID-19 care except for specialist nurses/midwives. HCWs more frequently involved in COVID-19 care reported higher levels of emotional and physical fatigue and poorer sleep but less severe than those reported in more severely affected countries.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of rehabilitation area professionals: A systematic review

Background

The role of the physiotherapist is vital in the recovery of post-COVID-19 patients, but fear of contagion is a possible feeling among healthcare professionals. The objective of this study is to assess the mental health effects that COVID-19 has had on healthcare workers, including rehabilitation care, in times of pandemic.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA format in the Pubmed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science databases between July and September 2022. Keywords included were "healthcare providers," "COVID-19," "Mental Health," and "Psychological Distress." Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.

Results

A total of 14 studies were included in this review. The study population was healthcare professionals including the rehabilitation services. In total, 4 studies reported exclusively on anxiety and stress levels in physiotherapists providing care during the pandemic.

Conclusions

The mental health of healthcare professionals has been compromised during the pandemic. However, initially, research was only focused on physicians and nurses, so the need arises to include those professionals, such as physiotherapists, who are also in direct contact with COVID-19 patients.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=367664, identifier: CRD42022367664.

The Impact of Sociodemographic Characteristics on Coping Strategies Used by Nurses Working at COVID and Non-COVID Hospital Departments during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The aim of our study was to compare coping strategies applied by nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic at COVID-19 (CoV) and non-COVID-19 (non-CoV) hospital departments with regards to their sociodemographic characteristics in order that the system can provide them better support in future similar situations. Methods: A total of 380 out of 1305 nurses participated in the survey during December 2020. Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) was used. Stepwise regression analysis was used to determine the interaction between sociodemographic characteristics and coping strategies. Results: The CoV married nurses (62.2%) used problem- (p = 0.010) and emotion- (p = 0.003) focused coping more and avoidance coping less (p = 0.007). CoV nurses with master’s degrees (11.1%) used both problem- and emotion-focused coping less (p < 0.01), and older nurses used emotional coping more than the younger nurses (p = 0.027), whereas younger nurses used more avoidance coping (p < 0.01). CoV nurses without children (41%) used avoidance strategies more than nurses who had 2−3 children (p < 0.001). Among non-CoV nurses, less use of emotional coping was recorded in nurses with master’s degrees (4%) than in those with a high school diploma (44.2%) (p = 0.002). Avoidance coping was also used more by married non-CoV nurses (79.1%) (p < 0.001) and those without children (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Sociodemographic factors such as working experience, age, level of education and marital status influenced chosen coping strategies during the health crisis.

Relationship between ABO Blood Group Distribution and COVID-19 Infection in Patients Admitted to the ICU: A Multicenter Observational Spanish Study

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019, a relationship between the ABO blood group type and the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19, has been reported, noting that individuals with the O blood group are the least likely to be infected. Spain is one of the most badly affected countries worldwide, with high rates of patients diagnosed, hospitalized, and deceased due to COVID-19 infection. The present study aimed to analyze the possible relationship of ABO in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in different Spanish centers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which the ABO group was available. Physicians from the transfusion services of different Spanish hospitals, who have developed a multicenter retrospective observational study, were invited to participate voluntarily in the research and 12,115 patients with COVID-19 infection were admitted to the nine participating hospitals. The blood group was known in 1399 cases (11.5%), of which 365 (26.1%) were admitted to the ICU. Regarding the distribution of ABO blood groups, a significant increase in the non-O blood groups and reduction for the O blood group was observed in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, compared to the reference general population. Among the patients admitted to the ICU, after multivariate analysis, adjusted for the rest of the confounding variables, patients with the O blood group presented a significantly lower risk for admission to the ICU. We conclude that an association was observed between patients with the O blood group and their lower susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, both for those admitted to the hospitalization ward and for those who required admission to the ICU.

Analysis of the Psychosocial Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Nursing Staff of the Intensive Care Units (ICU) in Spain

(1) The public health emergency, caused by COVID-19, has resulted in strong physical and mental exhaustion in healthcare workers. This research has been designed with the aim to describe the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses working in intensive care units (ICU) and identify the related risk factors. (2) This is a cross-sectional study, in which a self-administered questionnaire was designed to cover the dimensions of interest associated with psychosocial factors during the pandemic and their factor risks. (3) A total of 456 nursing professionals participated, and 88.4% were women. Most of the professionals had a temporary contract (71.3%) and person at risk close to them (88.8%). Regarding psychosocial factors, there was a worsening in most of the associated variables, especially in sleep problems, anxiety, stress, and job performance. Female nurses were more prone to anxiety. Those under 30, as well as those with temporary contracts, were more unfocused. Professionals with a person at risk in their environment felt much more worried. The degree of exposure was associated with greater fear. (4) Those nurses who were female, younger, and with a temporary employment contract were shown to be more vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic on their psychosocial health. Because of this, it is necessary to adopt effective strategies for the protection of nurses’ health, focusing on the specific risk factors identified.